Rome Case: 43 high-end vehicles seized in Santa Cruz, operations continue
The FELCN and the Public Prosecutor's Office raided two car dealerships in Santa Cruz and seized 43 vehicles, including Porsche, BMW and Lexus models, as part of the Rome case investigation.
Rome case operations extended to Santa Cruz car dealerships with 43 vehicles seized
The Special Anti-Narcotics Force (FELCN) and prosecutors raided two car dealerships in Santa Cruz de la Sierra on Saturday and seized 43 vehicles, several of them high-end models, as part of investigations into the Rome case. According to El Deber, the properties intervened are linked to the alleged criminal organisation surrounding former Attorney General Róger Mariaca Montenegro and other former Public Prosecutor's Office officials.
Government Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo confirmed that the interventions are part of a broader investigation aimed at dismantling a structure that allegedly operated from within the Public Prosecutor's Office.
"The operations in the dismantling of the criminal organisation that emerged from the Public Prosecutor's Office are continuous, they are permanent and, fortunately, things are going well," Oviedo said during contact with journalists, following the anniversary event of the Rural Patrol Mobile Unit (Umopar).
Two establishments, 43 vehicles retained
The first raid was carried out at a car dealership located on the fourth ring road, at the corner of Radial Avenue 27. Prosecutor Julio Alejandro Porcel García headed the operation, which involved specialised teams, including dogs trained in the detection of controlled substances. At that establishment, 13 vehicles were seized, a DVR system for recording storage, an iPhone 17 Pro Max and two other mobile phones that were in the possession of the premises' workers.
The second operation took place at a dealership located on 2 August Avenue, between the fourth and fifth ring roads. There investigators retained 30 additional vehicles, eight of which were sealed, in addition to documentation and another DVR device for later analysis. At both premises, the vehicles remained under the responsibility of lawyers Silvestre Stanley Ibáñez Salas and Fernando Venegas Hurtado, registered as receivers.
Among the 43 vehicles intervened are Porsche, BMW and Lexus automobiles, amongst other brands. The investigation will need to establish their origin, ownership and possible links to the economic operations under suspicion.
International cooperation and transnational dimension
Oviedo clarified that the inquiries are not limited to Bolivian territory. "We are also working with international cooperation. We receive sources from several countries, because crime, as you know, has no borders, these are transnational offences," he stated.
The minister added that the commission of prosecutors and investigators continues to accumulate information on alleged money laundering operations, movements of economic resources and real estate.
"We are not varying our persistence, the monitoring, the accumulation of data and evidence, above all," he maintained.
Judicial authorisation and crimes investigated
The two interventions in Santa Cruz were authorised by resolution of the First Anti-Corruption Criminal Instruction Court in La Paz, issued on 11 October, at the request of the commission of prosecutors made up of Daniel Portales Barja and Edwin Sarmiento Valdivia.
The proceedings correspond to investigations into alleged crimes of trafficking in controlled substances, criminal organisation, money laundering and other charges involving Mariaca, Police Major Rubén Aparicio and former prosecutors Alberto Zeballos and Martín Irusta.
Mariaca remains in preventive detention at Cantumarca prison in Potosí, whilst the other investigated individuals are held in different penitentiary facilities.
Oviedo emphasised that investigations must be carried out within the constitutional framework. "The Police are providing evidence elements and, obviously, always respecting due process, the rights of the investigated individuals, because here no one can stigmatise anyone," he stated.
Source: El Deber