Lawyer arrested in Palermo for acting as link between imprisoned drug traffickers and hitmen in Rosario
A 55-year-old lawyer was arrested in Buenos Aires accused of connecting imprisoned drug trafficking bosses with active gangs in Rosario. The Argentine Federal Police intercepted him as he was heading to Retiro Bus Terminal.
Lawyer arrested in Palermo as operational nexus between imprisoned drug traffickers and Rosario gangs
A 55-year-old Argentine lawyer was detained in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Palermo on suspicion of acting as an intermediary between hitmen held in maximum security prisons and organised drug-trafficking organisations operating in Rosario, according to ellitoral.com.
The operation was carried out by the Department of Intelligence Against Organised Crime (DICCO) and the Federal Investigation Department (DFI) of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA), in coordination with the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) and the Intelligence and Special Operations Centre (CIOPE).
According to the judicial investigation, the lawyer exploited his role as defence counsel to circumvent contact restrictions imposed on his clients and operate as a link between inmates and gang members at liberty. Telephone wiretaps confirmed that he transmitted directives from the prisons to the outside.
Among his clients are high-profile organised crime figures: Claudio "Morocho" Mansilla, held at Federal Penitentiary Complex No. II in Marcos Paz and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, drug trafficking and criminal association, with links to the Riquelme Clan, the Alvarado Clan and the gang "Los Menores"; Francisco "Fran" Riquelme, also in Marcos Paz with a life sentence for murder; and Jonatan "Jonita" Gabriel Riquelme, Francisco's brother, held at Penitentiary Unit No. 11 in Piñero with a sentence for criminal association and drug trafficking.
The case is being handled by prosecutors Diego Giro, Mercedes Banchio and Marina Anahí Vigo, from the Special Unit of Highly Injurious Violence and the Specialist Unit of Drug Trafficking in Rosario.
Investigators established that the suspect resided in Buenos Aires and located two law offices on Tucumán Street—in the Courts area—and his private residence on Uriarte Street in Palermo. The Criminal Court Judges Panel in Rosario, headed by Rodrigo Facundo Becerra, issued the arrest warrant through a letter rogatory before the National Criminal Court of Letters Rogatory, headed by Gabriel Omar Ghirlanda.
The arrest took place when agents observed that the lawyer was leaving his residence and boarding a rental vehicle heading to Retiro Bus Terminal, intending to travel to Rosario. The PFA intercepted the car on Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz Avenue at number 2400 and proceeded with his apprehension.
The courts subsequently ordered three searches at properties on Tucumán and Uriarte streets. During the inspections, four laptop computers, one CPU, one mobile telephone and documentation of procedural interest were seized.
The suspect was charged with violations of drug laws and criminal association, pending his transfer to the courts in Rosario.
Source: Google News AR — Crime