Marset case: Public Prosecutor seeks preventive detention for Colonel Ferrufino over stolen suitcases
The Public Prosecutor's Office requested six months of preventive detention for Lieutenant Colonel Juan Ferrufino, charged with five offences. His defence argues that the videos were altered.
Intelligence colonel charged with five offences in operation that captured Marset
The Public Prosecutor's Office requested six months of preventive detention for police Lieutenant Colonel Juan Marcelo Ferrufino Rojas, formally charged with five alleged offences in connection with the investigation into the theft of suitcases during the operation in which Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset was captured, according to El Deber.
The five offences weighing against Ferrufino are embezzlement, breach of duty, aggravated theft, extortion and passive bribery. The Public Prosecutor's request will need to be resolved in a hearing on precautionary measures, the date of which has not yet been set.
Ferrufino's role in Marset's capture
Ferrufino was serving as national director of Police Intelligence when he participated in Marset's capture, carried out on 13 March 2026 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. According to the prosecution's theory, the former police chief allegedly intervened in the removal of several suitcases from the premises searched in the Las Palmas neighbourhood, where the drug trafficker was arrested, without the items being recorded or formally incorporated into inventory and custody procedures.
The investigation suggests the alleged existence of at least four million dollars in cash, in addition to luxury watches and other valuable objects that may have been inside the suitcases. The exact contents and destination of those goods form part of the facts that still need to be clarified.
The Marset case has led to the charging of various public officials who allegedly provided protection to the drug trafficker or benefited from agreements with him. The Uruguayan, meanwhile, currently faces justice in the United States.
Outstanding inquiries
Among the investigative acts that the Public Prosecutor's Office still has to carry out are forensic computer analysis, collection of security camera recordings and statements from police officers who participated in the operation, together with other inquiries aimed at establishing the circumstances of the incident.
The Public Prosecutor's Office bases its request for preventive detention on the need to guarantee progress in the investigation and prevent risks of flight or obstruction. The imposition of the measure depends, however, on the decision of the judicial authority at the precautionary hearing. In the meantime, Ferrufino remains subject to criminal proceedings as a defendant, under the presumption of innocence.
The defence questions the arrest and raises concerns over his safety
Lawyer Freddy Velásquez, Ferrufino's defence counsel, questioned the arrest carried out on Friday in La Paz and maintained that it was unnecessary, given that his client is an active police officer who could have presented himself voluntarily to the authorities. "If they wanted Colonel Ferrufino to present himself, he is a police officer who works. A summons and he would have presented himself, and there would have been no problem," Velásquez told El Deber.
The lawyer also cast doubt on the authenticity of the security camera images incorporated into the case file. He claimed that at least one of the audiovisual recordings presented would show cuts and alterations, and requested that specialists carry out a technical analysis of the videos and audio. "That video is cut. That video is altered," he said.
Finally, Velásquez expressed concern for the physical integrity of his client in the event that he is transferred to a prison facility. He argued that Ferrufino participated throughout his career in operations against drug trafficking and that some people arrested in those interventions are currently detained in various prisons across the country. "His life is in danger," the lawyer warned.
Source: El Deber