Four arrested from Comando Vermelho over murder in Riberalta, Beni
Bolivian Police have apprehended four alleged members of Comando Vermelho linked to the murder of Freddy González Bazán, which occurred on 17 September in Riberalta.
Operation in Riberalta dismantles Comando Vermelho cell linked to homicide
Bolivian Police detained four people allegedly implicated in the murder of Freddy González Bazán, 29 years old, which occurred on 17 September in Riberalta, Beni department, according to reduno.com.bo. The investigation led to the identification of a cell linked to Comando Vermelho, a criminal organisation based in Brazil.
Government minister Marco Oviedo stated that the crime would be the result of a dispute between organisations engaged in drug trafficking. "What is relevant about this incident is that this is a dispute between narco-terrorist operations in this sector of the country," Oviedo said during the presentation of the investigation results.
Bolivian Police's general commander, Colonel Adrián Álvarez, explained that following the homicide, specialised units were deployed to Riberalta to clarify the case and identify those responsible. The investigation included the exchange of information with the Brazilian Federal Police, which allowed the suspects to be located.
The detainees
Among those apprehended is Diego Ojopi Egüez, a 19-year-old Bolivian who already had a criminal record in Bolivia and was previously held in preventive detention. The other three detainees are of Brazilian nationality: Jean Carlos Alves Da Silva, 50 years old; Piñeiro Gutiérrez Espíndola, 37 years old, with a record of drug and weapons trafficking in Brazil; and Francimar Gabriel Dos Santos, 35 years old, who has an 11-year prison sentence in Brazil for committing various offences.
Police indicated that some members of the cell operated from Brazil, though several were said to have moved to Bolivian territory.
Weapons, mobile phones and a stolen vehicle
During the operation, two 9-millimetre pistols with 21 cartridges of the same calibre, a .32-calibre revolver with 11 cartridges and seven mobile phones were seized, which will be subjected to forensic analysis. Officers also impounded a pick-up truck with a theft report from Argentina, a vehicle which, according to the police version, was used by members of the organisation to move around and carry out their illicit activities.
Drug trafficking and the border
Colonel Álvarez confirmed that both the victim and the alleged perpetrators of the crime would have links to the illegal trafficking of controlled substances. "This murder that occurred on the seventeenth of this month has a connection with drug-trafficking activities," he stated.
Minister Oviedo specified that the operation is part of the "Secure Border" plan, through which the Bolivian Government seeks to reinforce action against criminal organisations operating in border areas. The investigation continues with the aim of establishing the degree of participation of each detainee and determining the complete structure of the organisation identified in Riberalta.
Source: Google News BO — Crime