Operation 'Rainbow Dope': 28 accused of drug trafficking in Coamo, Juana Díaz and Villalba
A federal grand jury has charged 28 members of a drug trafficking organisation active in southern and central Puerto Rico. The network was directed from prison by Jeremy Maldonado, aged 25.
Drug trafficking network dismantled in southern Puerto Rico: 28 federal charges
The Puerto Rico federal prosecutors' office announced on Wednesday the charging of 28 people linked to a drug trafficking organisation operating in the municipalities of Coamo, Juana Díaz and Villalba, under the operation named 'Rainbow Dope', according to infobae.com.
A federal grand jury of the Puerto Rico District handed down the charges on 24 September for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, as well as for offences related to firearms. Some of the accused were already held in various prisons for previous drug cases.
"The arrests in this case highlight the determination of the federal prosecutors' office and its law enforcement partners in upholding the rule of law," said Héctor Ramírez, acting federal prosecutor for the Puerto Rico District.
According to the charges, since 2022 the organisation distributed heroin, fentanyl, crack, cocaine, marijuana, tramadol and clonazepam in the public housing complexes Enudio Negrón, Maximino Miranda—located in Villalba—and Villas del Parque, in Juana Díaz, as well as in surrounding areas. The network was led by Jeremy Maldonado, aged 25, who directed operations from prison.
The accused performed various functions within the structure: leaders, suppliers, owners of distribution points, security personnel, transporters, sellers, lookouts and facilitators. The authorities further allege that members of the organisation participated in shootings and murders to maintain territorial control of drug trafficking.
The operation's name derives from the method by which the organisation prepared crack: the resulting rocks displayed different colours, like a rainbow.
Michael Mayer, special agent in charge of the DEA's Caribbean Division, stated that each organisation dismantled and each distribution point shut down "represents lives that have potentially been saved".
The investigation was directed by the DEA and the Ponce Intervention Unit of the Puerto Rico Police, with collaboration from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the US Postal Inspection Service. During the arrests, support was provided by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the federal Marshals Service and the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Source: Google News PR — Crime