At least 15 people are being investigated in relation to the seizure of 9.5 tons of cocaine, valued at 250 million dollars, considered the largest cache seized in the history of the Dominican Republic.
The Public Ministry has already identified five possible people directly involved in the case, according to sources linked to the investigation.
The operation, which involved four prosecutors and expert officers from the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and intelligence agencies, took place last Friday morning at the Caucedo Multimodal Port, located in Andrés, Boca Chica.
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The drug was discovered on a cargo ship that arrived in the country from Guatemala. According to the authorities, the shipment had Belgium as its final destination. The seizure occurred when port employees were moving the cargo from one container to another inside the ship, which was prepared to set sail for Europe.
Investigators confirmed that among the 15 port employees investigated, five could be directly linked to the cache. “We are making progress in the investigations, and we do not rule out that the number of people questioned will increase as the investigations develop,” they noted.
International support and local collaboration
The Dominican authorities have the support of international organizations, allied countries and Guatemala, the ship’s place of origin. In addition, the executives of the Caucedo Multimodal Port have provided all the necessary information to clarify the case, in coordination with the General Directorate of Customs.
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International drug trafficking structure
Investigations point to a sophisticated international drug trafficking network that uses Latin America and the Caribbean as a bridge to send large shipments of drugs to Europe. “This is a powerful case, and it is not ruled out that more people will be implicated as the links within this criminal organization are identified,” highlighted sources close to the case.
It was confirmed that the five suspects directly linked to the cache are of Dominican nationality, which reinforces the hypothesis of a local network connected to international operations.
