Chubut Police seize 60 kilograms of cocaine and dismantle drug gang with links to Buenos Aires
Chubut Police dismantled a drug trafficking organisation following more than a year of investigation, seizing 60 kg of cocaine valued at 2 billion pesos.
Anti-drug operation in Comodoro Rivadavia: 60 kilograms of cocaine seized after year-long investigation
The Police of Chubut province dismantled an organisation dedicated to drug trafficking and seized more than 60 kilograms of maximum purity cocaine, in what provincial authorities described as one of the most significant anti-drug operations recorded in Comodoro Rivadavia. According to elpatagonico.com, the investigation extended for more than a year and included coordination with federal forces.
Provincial Governor Ignacio "Nacho" Torres held a press conference at the Official Residence of Comodoro Rivadavia, accompanied by the Minister of Security and Justice, Héctor Iturrioz. Torres specified that the seized drug has an estimated value of more than 2 billion pesos and that the dismantled gang operated with branches in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the Buenos Aires conurbation.
"We are talking about 60 kilograms of cocaine, more than 2 billion pesos in the value of this drug, and the fact that we reached this gang allows us to advance even further, because that drug no longer reaches Comodoro Rivadavia and does not poison our children," declared the governor.
Torres explicitly mentioned families identified by security forces as recidivists in crimes linked to drug trafficking and homicides in Comodoro Rivadavia: the Nieves, the Vera and the Alcaina. The governor noted that the operation is directly related to those networks, with connections that extend to Buenos Aires and La Plata.
Inter-jurisdictional cooperation and praise for the new Procedural Code
The governor highlighted the coordinated work between Chubut Police and federal forces, and acknowledged progress under the new Procedural Code in force in the province. "Many times I was critical of court timelines when investigations were delayed or necessary raids were prevented, but in this case it must be recognised that, with the new Code, work is progressing well, in an inter-jurisdictional manner, and our Police achieved a level of investigation worthy of recognition," said Torres.
Minister Iturrioz, for his part, stressed that the gang not only supplied cocaine and synthetic drugs to Comodoro Rivadavia, but also to much of the country. He highlighted the collaboration of the Intelligence Division of the Argentine Naval Prefecture, based at the port of La Plata, as a key piece in operational work in Buenos Aires province. "This daily work is silent and constant, and it produces results," said the official.
Iturrioz also noted that there is no prior record of a seizure of such magnitude in the city: "We have no record of more than 60 kilograms of maximum purity cocaine and synthetic drugs ever having been seized in Comodoro before."
Torres announces judicial follow-up and new security investments
The governor announced that the province would make public the proceedings resulting from the operation. "In the same way that we make public an operation like this, we will make public the progress of the case, because convictions must be exemplary," said Torres. He also recalled that on previous occasions first-instance sentences of 30 or 40 years ended up being reduced to six years, and questioned that trend.
"These criminals must go to jail and rot there, as they deserve," said the governor, who also criticised releases via habeas corpus in cases where the accused took advantage of their freedom to flee.
Torres called for sentences to reach all levels of the criminal organisation, from the head of the gang to those carrying out surveillance roles. "That is the only way to definitely eradicate these criminals from the city and the province," he said.
At the same event, the governor announced investments in video surveillance for Comodoro Rivadavia, with a two-week implementation timeframe, and confirmed the incorporation of more than one hundred patrol cars. "An invitation will be extended to all citizens who wish to join this security network," Torres said.
The governor also raised a broader debate on the relationship between police action and the judicial system: "The debate we must have as a society has to do with a Police force that risks its life, because the procedure may be perfect, but there is nothing more frustrating than arresting a criminal and having them released in less than a year."
Source: Google News AR — Buenos Aires