Top prosecutor also slams release of Venezuelans in drugs case

Santo Domingo.- Justice minister Francisco Dominguez on Mondayrailed against the outright release of five Venezuelans who were arrested on possessionof 359 kilos of cocaine on Friday.

Dominguez criticized as "highly disturbing" theruling by La Romana (east) interim judge Aristida Mercedes, who ruled againstthe prosecution’s request for pretrial detention.

"Once again I express my concern with such rulings,which only harm the entire Dominican justice system and encourage impunity incases of organized crime, which have been especially accommodating andextremely lax with these members of an international drug trafficking network,which has been using the Dominican Republic as a bridge to send drugs to othercountries," the official said in a statement.

The National Drugs Control Agency has also slammed theinterim judge’s ruling.