Coercive measures announced for Hugo Beras, Jochi Gómez, and five others in Intrant case

Santo Domingo.- Judge Fátima Veloz of the National District’s Permanent Attention Office began hearings on Tuesday regarding coercive measures against former director of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (INTRANT), Hugo Beras, businessman José Ángel Canaán (Jochi Gómez), and five other defendants linked to a major corruption scandal within INTRANT. The hearing started at 2:00 p.m. and extended past 9:30 p.m., involving the Public Prosecutor’s Office and defense attorneys.

The 300-page case file names Frank Rafael Atilano Díaz Warden, Samuel Gregorio Baquero Sepúlveda, Juan Francisco Alvarez Carbuccia, Pedro Vinicio Padovani Báez, and Carlos José Peguero Vargas as co-defendants. The group faces charges including embezzlement, fraud against the State, forgery, collusion of officials, smuggling, illicit trade, sabotage, terrorism against critical infrastructure, and identity theft.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested 18 months of preventive detention and for the case to be declared complex, citing concerns that the accused possess the means to conceal key evidence crucial to the investigation’s progress.