Operation Southwest Impact: 44 arrested and 8 firearms seized in Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico Police arrested 44 people and confiscated 8 firearms in the south-west of the archipelago. In parallel, 269 kilograms of cocaine were seized off the coast of Aguadilla.
44 arrests and 22 vehicles confiscated in anti-drugs operation in south-west Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico Police arrested 44 people—40 men, two women and one minor—as part of Operation Southwest Impact, aimed at combating drug and arms trafficking in the south-west region of the archipelago, infobae.com reported on Tuesday. The operation also resulted in the confiscation of 8 firearms and 22 vehicles.
The bail imposed on the detainees totals 12.54 million dollars. The operation is part of a broader operational effort begun on 28 September, during which authorities have accumulated 168 arrests, 18 firearms seized and 30 vehicles confiscated.
"This operation neither begins nor ends today. It is part of a sustained work plan through which we are identifying, investigating and removing from our streets people who use drugs and weapons to sustain criminal activities," said Police Superintendent Joseph González in a statement.
González added that the objective is to extend the efforts "to every corner of Puerto Rico", making strategic use of the resources available to confront those who represent a threat to the security of communities.
Cocaine worth 2.5 million dollars seized in Aguadilla
In the early hours of Monday, personnel from the Intelligence Division of the Rapid Action United Forces (FURA), together with the Maritime Division of Añasco and federal border control agents, intercepted a vessel identified as Hueso off the coast of Aguadilla, in the west of Puerto Rico. Two men were arrested after 269 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value of 2.5 million dollars were seized.
Puerto Rico's Secretary of Justice, Lourdes L. Gómez, stressed that drug and arms trafficking puts the lives of citizens at risk and that her department's responsibility is to present before the courts "cases substantiated by evidence".
"From the Department of Justice we will continue to follow up on these proceedings with the rigour and seriousness they merit, to ensure that those who commit these offences are held accountable before the law," said González.
Puerto Rico, because of its strategic location between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and its status as a Free Associated State of the United States, functions as a transit point for drug smuggling from South America and other Caribbean countries destined for the United States market.
Source: Google News PR — Crime