"El Meo" arrested in Parque Carrasco: key drug trafficker in Marconi conflicts
Edgardo Bonino Castro, alias "El Meo", was detained this Tuesday along with four other people. USD 37,500, weapons and cocaine were seized.
Police arrest drug trafficker linked to Operation Tracer with over USD 37,000 in cash
Edgardo Fabián Bonino Castro, alias "El Meo", was arrested on Tuesday at 12:45 in a car dealership in Parque Carrasco, according to subrayado.com.uy. The 45-year-old man, with a criminal record, was wanted for his links to drug trafficking and the distribution of cocaine and base paste from abroad.
Police identify him as a central figure in the confrontations shaking the Marconi neighbourhood, where his criminal organisation disputes territory with a rival gang. Despite residing in an apartment building in Parque Carrasco, his allies—mostly young people and adolescents—operated in Marconi armed with pistols, automatic weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The arrest is considered a direct blow to that organisation. A week earlier, Cristopher Mayer, one of his associates, had been murdered in Marconi. In October, another member of the same group, Andrés Migales, died in an apartment in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Palermo. The three were part of the same criminal network, linked to Operation Tracer, in which over 260 kilograms of cocaine were seized in the Pérez Castellanos neighbourhood.
Police are also investigating whether the 300 kilograms of drugs seized in September in Brazo Oriental are connected to "El Meo".
The Information Department of the General Directorate for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (DGRTID) executed five raids in search of the drug trafficker: one in the building where he resided, in Parque Carrasco, and four others in Punta Gorda, Barros Blancos, Flor de Maroñas and Larrañaga.
Alongside Bonino Castro, four other people were detained: three relatives aged 25, 29 and 33 years—including a woman—and a young woman of 20 years identified as his partner.
In the operations, USD 37,500 were seized, 160,000 pesos in cash, a Glock pistol with magazine and ammunition, a .22 calibre pistol, two wrappings of pink cocaine, mobile phones for expert examination and three vehicles.
The 1st Shift Narcotics Prosecutor's Office continues with the investigation and must adopt a judicial resolution in the coming hours.
Source: Google News UY — Crime