Second preventive detention for Mariaca over Bs 3.5 million found in ambulance
Former Attorney General Róger Mariaca receives a second preventive detention of six months for money laundering. The money was found hidden in an ambulance that left his condominium in Santa Cruz.
Mariaca returns to preventive detention over large sum discovered in ambulance
Former Attorney General Róger Mariaca was remanded to preventive detention for six months, according to El Deber. This time, the measure corresponds to an independent proceeding opened following the discovery of Bs 3,532,100 and $us 10,000 concealed in compartments of an ambulance that had left the condominium where he resides in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
The new judicial resolution keeps him in the Cantumarca penal facility in Potosí, the prison to which he had already been sent on Saturday in connection with a first proceeding related to criminal organisation and trafficking in controlled substances.
The second bail hearing was held this Sunday from the cells of the Special Force to Combat Drug Trafficking (Felcn) in El Alto. The investigation supporting this new detention is separate from the first case.
The operation originated when police intercepted the ambulance as it left the condominium. The vehicle had entered the property under the pretext of providing medical assistance, but when subjected to a check as it departed, officers discovered several suitcases concealed in the vehicle's compartments. The count confirmed Bs 3,532,100 and $us 10,000. The money and the persons detained were transferred to La Paz, where the case was taken up by the Felcn.
On the basis of that discovery, the Prosecution opened a second proceeding against Mariaca for alleged money laundering. The prosecution's hypothesis holds that the resources could be linked to trafficking in controlled substances and would have been concealed to prevent their identification. The origin and destination of the money still need to be established in the course of the investigation.
In addition to Mariaca, the second proceeding involves four other persons linked to the ambulance. Among those under investigation is a man who, according to police records, allegedly attempted to remove the recording system from the condominium's security cameras. The Prosecution seeks to determine whether that action was related to the removal of the money.
Police also identified two private clinics that could provide information about the circumstances of the ambulance's entry into the condominium. The names of these medical centres were not disclosed as investigations continue.
Source: El Deber