Former Bolivian Attorney-General arrested on drug trafficking and organised crime charges
Roger Mariaca, former attorney-general of the State, was arrested along with 13 others in a police operation linked to drug trafficking and organised crime.
Police operation dismantles Bolivian Public Ministry leadership
Former attorney-general of the State, Roger Mariaca, was detained on Thursday in Bolivia along with 13 others in a police operation, according to nodal.am. Government minister Marco Antonio Oviedo confirmed the arrests from La Paz and stated that Mariaca is allegedly implicated in criminal organisation, money laundering and controlled substance trafficking offences.
Among the 14 detained are four high-ranking officials from the Attorney-General's Office and six public officials from the Public Ministry in Santa Cruz. According to Oviedo, the latter group attempted to extract information from Mariaca's home, whilst four others allegedly tried to withdraw bundles of cash from the same residence using an ambulance.
Also detained were prosecutor Martín Irusta Flores, Major Rubén Aparicio Villarroel and Santa Cruz departmental prosecutor Alberto Zeballos Flores, all charged with controlled substance trafficking, illicit enrichment and membership in a criminal organisation.
"Last night and in the early morning hours, a criminal organisation entrenched in the justice system and in the administration of the Public Ministry, headed by Roger Mariaca and intended to protect and encourage narcoterrorism in the country, was dismantled," Oviedo declared at a press conference.
The minister stressed that the operation was carried out entirely by the Bolivian Police and specified that Mariaca's arrest responded to the "continuous and permanent" nature of the crimes committed by the criminal structure that he allegedly headed. "It was an organisation that protected, participated in and enriched itself from controlled substance trafficking," he affirmed.
Oviedo further highlighted that in recent months 20 leaders of criminal organisations were arrested, including the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Comando Vermelho, as well as groups from Colombia and neighbouring countries.
Following Mariaca's detention, Luis Montaño assumed office as interim attorney-general in accordance with the order of succession established by law. However, presidential spokesman José Gálvez announced that Montaño is also being sought by the Police. "As of now this person is being sought and is going to be detained because he will also have to answer to justice," Gálvez stated.
The government of Rodrigo Paz urged the Legislative Assembly to be "part of the change in justice in Bolivia" in what it described as "a historic opportunity".
Source: Google News BO — Crime