Hearing against former prosecutor Mariaca over Bs 3.5 million found in ambulance
The Public Ministry opened a second criminal case against Róger Mariaca for money laundering. In an ambulance that left his condominium, Bs 3,532,100 and US$10,000 were found.
Second case against Mariaca: substantial sum found in ambulance
The Public Ministry opened a second criminal case against former state prosecutor general Róger Mariaca for the crime of money laundering, according to El Deber. The case originates from the discovery of a substantial sum transported in an ambulance that had entered the condominium where the former official resides.
This Sunday, after 07:00, the hearing on precautionary measures corresponding to the second case was held. In addition to Mariaca, four other people are defendants in this case, all linked to the ambulance in which Bs 3,532,100 and US$10,000 were found.
The discovery on 1 October
The discovery occurred on Thursday 1 October, hours after the arrest of Mariaca and the departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz, Alberto Zeballos, as part of a major operation related to an investigation into an alleged structure protecting drug trafficking linked to Uruguayan citizen Sebastián Marset.
According to information presented by the police, the ambulance entered Mariaca's condominium under the pretext of providing medical assistance. Upon leaving the location, the vehicle was stopped by police officers for inspection.
During the search, officers found several suitcases hidden in vehicle compartments. The money was counted under the functional direction of a prosecutor, with participation of the police transparency unit and presence of media. Subsequently, the money and those detained were transferred to La Paz, after the investigation was referred to the Special Force to Combat Drug Trafficking (Felcn).
Suspicion of illicit origin
The Public Ministry suspects that the money could be related to controlled substance trafficking activities and would have been hidden to prevent its identification. The source and destination of the funds remain to be established in the course of the investigation.
Among the four men detained in this case is a technician who, according to police records, allegedly attempted to remove the security camera recording system from the condominium. The Public Ministry is investigating whether this action was related to the transfer of the money.
The departmental commander of the Santa Cruz Police, Edson Fernández, also reported that two private clinics were identified with possible links in the circumstances surrounding the ambulance's entry. The names of these medical centres were not disclosed as the investigation is ongoing.
Context: first case in preventive detention
This investigation is separate from the case for which Mariaca, Zeballos and two other defendants—Irusta and Aparicio—were sent to preventive detention for six months, charged with criminal organisation and controlled substance trafficking, within the investigation into the alleged drug trafficking protection network related to Marset.
In that first case, Mariaca was remanded to Cantumarca prison in Potosí. The judge rejected his request to be subject to a responsibility trial and determined that he be prosecuted through ordinary proceedings.
With the second charge, the Public Ministry again requests the preventive detention of Mariaca, this time for money laundering based on the money found in the ambulance. The hearing will determine the legal situation of those involved and will allow greater details to emerge regarding the evidence supporting this second investigation.
Source: El Deber