More than US$1.0M seized from remnants of drug ring

Santo Domingo.- The Justice Ministry’s Anti-laundering Unit seized more than US$1.0 million and 15,000 pesos in cash and two vehicles and arrested three Colombians in an apartment at the upscale sector Serrallés,.

In the announcement Thursday officials said the strike was against the remnants of a drug ring busted late last year, allegedly headed by the Dominican Jose Calderon Rijo.

The Colombians were identified as Henry Hernandez Vellada, Juan Carlos Vargas and Raquel Francisca Cardoza, who’ll be arraigned in the next few hours.

The agents found the dollars and other currencies and one of the vehicles, in the apartment on Luis Escoto Gomez St., Serrallés, in the capital, in addition to a scale and documents.

Anti-laundering Unit director German Miranda said Peravia Province and National Drugs Control Agency (DNCD) officials also took part in the raid.

He said in addition to Calderon aka “La Araña” (The Spider), former Dominican Police captain Lalis Alberto Sierra and the Colombian Jose Alfonso Morroi (Faust) were also arrested when the network was busted in December last year, and are being held at the Bani prison (south).

Miranda said that at the time of the arrests, 10.38 kilos of cocaine were seized from the group during an operation at the coast near Bani.