Police officer and relatives remanded in Palmasola on drug trafficking charges
A uniformed officer, her aspiring police officer brother and their mother, who had previously been convicted of drug offences, were remanded in the Santa Cruz prison whilst authorities investigate charges related to the smuggling of 50 kilograms of cannabis.
Police officer and relatives remanded in Palmasola on drug trafficking charges
Three related individuals—among them a woman wearing state uniform—were remanded in the Palmasola detention centre, located in the Santa Cruz department. The provisional judicial ruling stems from a case investigating the illicit trade of approximately fifty kilograms of cannabis.
The guarantees judge made the decision after examining evidence gathered by the public prosecutor and FELCN officers. During the legality control proceeding, it was determined that the suspects formed a criminal cell dedicated to the movement of narcotics.
The drugs were found hidden amongst vegetables: sacks of vegetable fibre which, on the outside, contained onion bulbs. The shipment was detected thanks to an operation deployed by anti-narcotics units.
The Public Prosecutor's representative, Julio César Porras, clarified that the security official was initially called only to provide testimony. However, her statement generated suspicions that led to an expansion of the case file and, subsequently, to an arrest warrant being issued against her.
The accused family unit would be headed by the police officer herself. Her direct accomplice would be her younger brother, enrolled in the first year of the police training academy. The third accused is the mother of both, a woman who already has a criminal record linked to the trafficking of psychoactive substances.
The judicial authority justified the deprivation of liberty by pointing out that there was a danger of flight and risk of obstruction of evidence. The Public Prosecutor's office announced that it would continue gathering evidence to establish the origin of the shipment, its final recipient and the channels through which it was intended to be distributed.
The institutions in charge of combating drug trafficking reiterated that this type of operation forms part of a sustained strategy to dismantle distribution networks. Furthermore, they warned that investigations would remain open to identify possible collaborators. Finally, they emphasised that the status of one of the detainees as a state employee would not generate procedural privileges, as all accused individuals would be tried under identical legal standards.
Information obtained from El Deber
Source: El Deber