The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s largest terrorist group, is involved in Peru’s illegal gold trade, according to the Peruvian daily El Comercio and the TV program Mira Quien Habla.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s largest terrorist group, is involved in Peru’s illegal gold trade, according to the Peruvian daily El Comercio
and the TV program Mira Quien Habla
.
The FARC’s 63rd Front, led by Octavio Ortiz Ramírez, who is also known as “Wilmer El Burro,” has been charging a fee to illegal miners working along the Putumayo River, offering them protection and transport services for the gold in exchange.
The Putumayo River divides Colombia and Peru. About 3,000 grams of illegal gold worth a total of around 90,000 dollars are extracted illegally from the border region monthly, according to the Colombian National Police.
Colombian citizen Jair Manrique Pedroza allegedly is the region’s top buyer of illegal gold, according to the National Police.
USS Vandegrift seizes 907 kilograms of cocaine
The USS Vandegrift teamed with a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) to seize 907 kilograms of cocaine from a small vessel off Central America’s Pacific Coast in support of Operation MARTILLO on November 20.
Crew members of the Vandegrift spotted the suspicious vessel and deployed a helicopter and a LEDET to stop and inspect the boat. Law enforcement officers found 14 bales, which tested positive for cocaine.
The Vandegrift has made nine successful smuggling interdictions in recent months, disrupting the distribution of about 5,900 kilograms of narcotics while supporting Operation MARTILLO, a multinational mission to crack down on illicit drug trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus.
Operation MARTILLO combines the forces of 14 countries in the Americas – Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Canada, and the United States – along with France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. They work together to combat international drug trafficking, enhance regional security, and promote peace, stability, and prosperity throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America.
At-sea interdictions are highly coordinated, with the security forces of the participating countries partnering to identify, stop, and search suspicious vessels.
Brazil’s Federal Police dismantles international narco-trafficking ring
A large operation by the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) dismantled an international drug trafficking and money laundering ring on December 2.
In Operation Denarius, more than 180 PF agents conducted simultaneous raids in 16 cities and six states: Paraná, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Rondônia and Mato Grosso do Sul. The police agents served 13 arrest warrants and executed 39 search warrants. In total, they seized about 23.5 million dollars in assets, including homes, ranches, and businesses.
The PF launched its investigation in February after agents found a large shipment of cocaine hidden inside sections of material used for pre-fabricated housing in the city of Umuarama in Paraná state.
Dutch customs authorities seize 3.5 tons of cocaine
Dutch customs officials made the second-largest narcotics seizure in the history of Rotterdam harbor when they found 3.5 tons of cocaine in a container of cassava roots from Costa Rica, the Prosecutor’s Office said in a prepared statement on November 30.
The cocaine, which had a street value of 149 million dollars, was destroyed after being confiscated at Europe’s largest port. Law enforcement agents are investigating who is responsible for the shipment.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s largest terrorist group, is involved in Peru’s illegal gold trade, according to the Peruvian daily El Comercio
and the TV program Mira Quien Habla
.
The FARC’s 63rd Front, led by Octavio Ortiz Ramírez, who is also known as “Wilmer El Burro,” has been charging a fee to illegal miners working along the Putumayo River, offering them protection and transport services for the gold in exchange.
The Putumayo River divides Colombia and Peru. About 3,000 grams of illegal gold worth a total of around 90,000 dollars are extracted illegally from the border region monthly, according to the Colombian National Police.
Colombian citizen Jair Manrique Pedroza allegedly is the region’s top buyer of illegal gold, according to the National Police.
USS Vandegrift seizes 907 kilograms of cocaine
The USS Vandegrift teamed with a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) to seize 907 kilograms of cocaine from a small vessel off Central America’s Pacific Coast in support of Operation MARTILLO on November 20.
Crew members of the Vandegrift spotted the suspicious vessel and deployed a helicopter and a LEDET to stop and inspect the boat. Law enforcement officers found 14 bales, which tested positive for cocaine.
The Vandegrift has made nine successful smuggling interdictions in recent months, disrupting the distribution of about 5,900 kilograms of narcotics while supporting Operation MARTILLO, a multinational mission to crack down on illicit drug trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus.
Operation MARTILLO combines the forces of 14 countries in the Americas – Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Canada, and the United States – along with France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. They work together to combat international drug trafficking, enhance regional security, and promote peace, stability, and prosperity throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America.
At-sea interdictions are highly coordinated, with the security forces of the participating countries partnering to identify, stop, and search suspicious vessels.
Brazil’s Federal Police dismantles international narco-trafficking ring
A large operation by the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) dismantled an international drug trafficking and money laundering ring on December 2.
In Operation Denarius, more than 180 PF agents conducted simultaneous raids in 16 cities and six states: Paraná, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Rondônia and Mato Grosso do Sul. The police agents served 13 arrest warrants and executed 39 search warrants. In total, they seized about 23.5 million dollars in assets, including homes, ranches, and businesses.
The PF launched its investigation in February after agents found a large shipment of cocaine hidden inside sections of material used for pre-fabricated housing in the city of Umuarama in Paraná state.
Dutch customs authorities seize 3.5 tons of cocaine
Dutch customs officials made the second-largest narcotics seizure in the history of Rotterdam harbor when they found 3.5 tons of cocaine in a container of cassava roots from Costa Rica, the Prosecutor’s Office said in a prepared statement on November 30.
The cocaine, which had a street value of 149 million dollars, was destroyed after being confiscated at Europe’s largest port. Law enforcement agents are investigating who is responsible for the shipment.