César Emilio Peralta, a Dominican known as the “King of cocaine” and accused of sending thousands of tons of drugs from the Caribbean to the United States and Europe, was arrested on December 2 in Colombia, authorities reported.
Peralta, 44, also known as “the abuser,” was captured in the Bocagrande sector of Cartagena de Indias, said Dominican Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez at a press conference.
The official said that the network that Peralta operated, with alleged connections in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Colombia, according to the FBI, had been “totally dismantled,” after more than 60 operations ended in the capture of 18 people, five of whom were gang leaders.
Three of these were extradited to the United States, while one is in the process of being brought before justice in that country, Rodríguez said.
For its part, the Colombian Office of the Attorney General said that Peralta, who is wanted in 192 countries and has a Red Notice from Interpol, was staying in an apartment where the “capture was made.”
The FBI offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the “King of cocaine.”
“We are talking with the Colombian Ministry of Justice, so that we can coordinate his extradition to either the United States or the Dominican Republic, the former being the preferred option,” Rodríguez said.
Three Colombians and one Dominican were detained along with Peralta, he added.
In August, the U.S. Department of the Treasury blacklisted the Dominican narcotrafficker for allegedly coordinating the shipment of “tons of cocaine and significant amounts of opioids” from Santo Domingo to the United States, Puerto Rico, and Europe.
Treasury sanctions freeze the assets and property of designated entities that are directly or indirectly under U.S. jurisdiction.
According to the Dominican Office of the Attorney General, the “King of cocaine” has been involved in narcotrafficking “for more than two decades.”