Those charged in the Panthera 7 case are refusing to speak with investigators about the cache of 9.8 tons of cocaine seized at the Caucedo Multimodal Port on December 6 by the National Drug Control Directorate and the Public Ministry.
This week, the Attorney General’s Office has questioned around six employees of the Caucedo Multimodal Portincluding two that were requested yesterday by the crime prosecution body.
The information was offered to The National a source linked to the investigation of the case, who refused to give further details so as not to hinder the process and alert other people who have not yet been arrested in the case.
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The judge of the Permanent Attention Court of Santo Domingo Este, Karen Casado, will continue tomorrow hearing the request for a measure of coercion against seven defendants.
The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 in the morning.
The Public Ministry has asked the court to declare the case complex and impose 18 months of preventive detention as a coercive measure for all those charged with international drug trafficking and money laundering.
The hearing has been postponed on two occasions: the first so that one of the accused could be represented by his lawyer and, the second, to give the investigated and their legal representatives the opportunity to coordinate their technical and material defense, which was not The Public Ministry objected.
On the 13th of this month, the MP requested 18 months of preventive detention for those arrested through the execution of Operation Panthera 7, linked to the seizure of 9.8 tons of cocaine in the Caucedo Multimodal Port last December 2024. Prosecutors Acting parties also requested the declaration of a complex case.
The coercive measure was requested against José Nicolás Castillo Hart (a) “Nikito”; Winston Armando Tejera Rodríguez (a) “Barbikin”; Cristian Rayner Canela Aybar; Nelson Neftalí Mercedes Lugo; Dulvi Jesús De los Santos; Enriquillo Luis Brito and Enrique José Luis Britoidentified by the Public Ministry as members of an international drug trafficking and money laundering network dismantled in a joint operation with the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and the United States Drug Control Administration (DEA, for its acronym in English).
In the actions against the criminal network, developed autonomously by the Dominican Republic, they participated 89 prosecutors and 564 special forces agentswho carried out arrests and raids.
According to the coercion request, more than 22 million in cash, in pesos and dollars, were seized during the raids. In addition, 20 light vehicles, 10 heavy vehicles, 10 containers, three motorcycles, three walkabouts and five outboard motors; as well as firearms.
The representatives of the prosecuting body classified Operation Panthera 7 as one of the largest operational offensives against organized crime carried out in the hemisphere.
The Panthera 7 defendants
The Public Ministry maintains that the defendants violated articles 59, 60, 265, and 266 of the Dominican Penal Code, which classifies “Association of evildoers”, as well as articles 58, 59, 60, 75 and 85 of Law 50 -88, on Narcotic Drugs, which classify “Drug Trafficking and Sponsorship.” The shipment of 9.8 tons of cocaine was incinerated.
