The Permanent Attention Office of the National District set for 11 a.m. this Saturday, October 5, the hearing to request a coercive measure against the former director of the National Land Transit Institute (Intrant), Hugo Beras; the businessman José Ángel Gómez Canáan –Jochi Gomez– and five other defendants in an alleged corruption network that operated in the bidding process in which the company was contracted company Transcore Latam for the management of traffic light network of Greater Santo Domingo.
The hearing was set after the Public Ministry deposited the file requesting a coercive measure on Friday night, through which it requests the imposition of the preventive detention as a measure of coercion against the seven accused and the statement of the complex case “because it is organized crime.”
Mirna Ortiz, Litigation coordinator of the Public Ministry, indicated that the detainees are accused by high tech crimesmoney laundering, forgery and use of false documents, coalition of officialsidentity theft, scam against the state through the public tenders with which they were favored, among others.
In addition to Beras and Gómez, they are accused in this case Frank Rafael Atilano Díaz WardenOffice coordinator and representative of Hugo Beras before the Purchasing Committee of the Intrant; Samuel Gregorio Baquero SepúlvedaDirector of Technology Intrant; Pedro Vinicio Padovani Báezformer head of the Traffic Control Center of the Intrant; and C.arlos José Peguero Vargasin charge of the technical-computer matters of the company Jochi Gomez.
All of them have been detained since Wednesday, October 2, in the Deprivation of Liberty Care Center of the National District Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor Ortiz said that in the course of the investigations they could include other people.
Operation Chameleon
Operation Chameleon is the name given to this new case of alleged corruption that occupies the Public Ministry and was activated last Wednesday night with raids on residences and companies in the National District, Santo Domingo Este, San Cristóbal and Punta Cana, linked to the accused. . Some 170 members of the National Police, Special Units and more than 30 specialized prosecutors against organized crime participated in these operations.
The prosecution body assured that among the facts objects of the imputation are the contract for the modernization of the Greater Santo Domingo traffic light system; he contract with the Ministry of Defense and the Aurix company, dated June 23, 2020, used according to the organization “to usurp functions of the intelligence, security and defense organizations of the State” and the sabotage occurred against the traffic light network in the month of August.
