Judge justifies release of man charged with smuggling US$500,000

Santo Domingo.- National District Permanent Attention judge José A. Vargas on Tuesday justified his releasing businessman Eduardo Andrés Massanet, charged with smuggling nearly half a million dollars, claiming that prosecutors didn’t show evidence linking him to money laundering.

He said he released the accused because the possession of the money isn’t a felony in Dominican Republic.

Vargas said the authorization wiretaps of the accused failed to link him to drug traffickers.

In the hearing, Massanet admitted having the money in the Porsche Cayenne during his arrest in the capital’s Villa Consuelo sector.