Top official to ‘get to the root’ of US$67.5M ‘vanished’ drug case

Santo Domingo.- Justice minister Francisco Dominguez on Thursday warned he’ll get to the root of the scandal that rocked the Police Narcotics Div. (Dican), where 1,200 kilos of seized cocaine allegedly “vanished.”

The official said investigators sift through evidence to determine the extent of the alleged theft of the drug valued at US$67.5 million. “The most important thing for us is to get to the root of the problem, because if it stays at the surface then we’re not solving anything. If everything stays at the surface then the problem would continue."

He said the commission headed by Bolivar Sanchez includes German Miranda, Ivan Lorenzo, Jose Alberto Jimenez, Robert Rodriguez and Santo Domingo province prosecutor Olga Dinah Llaverías.

Dican had reportedly seized the missing drug during a raid at Ensanche Isabelita, Santo Domingo Este, on 27 September.

The scandal prompted the suspension of that agency’s director Col. Carlos Fernández Valerio, who’s under investigation together with other senior officers.