Among those arrested are its top ringleader alias Orlando and the second ringleader alias Carlos, coordinators, managers, transporters and people in charge of warehouses, logistics and security of the illegal organization.
In a decisive operation against the crime of smuggling, within the framework of a joint, coordinated and inter-institutional operation conducted by the Colombian Navy, the Attorney General's Office, the DIJIN of the National Police and Colombian National Army, 18 alleged members of a Transnational Organized Criminal Group known as “Ware” were arrested, accused of being responsible for facilitating the entry of goods irregularly into the national territory.
This procedure was possible thanks to a wide deployment of technical and human resources carried out for several years, during which sufficient evidence material was collected for the judicial authorities to issue arrest warrants, which were materialized simultaneously in the cities of Barranquilla – Atlántico, Maicao and Riohacha in the Department of La Guajira and Medellín – Antioquia. Those arrested will have to face charges of favoring and facilitating smuggling, association to commit crimes, deviation of money, among other punishable behaviors.
The modus operandi of this gang consisted of introducing goods such as cigarettes, liquors, cosmetics, beauty items, household appliances and jewelry, coming from countries such as Panama and the Dutch Islands, through unauthorized ports (open smuggling) in the department of La Guajira.
This organization was highly sophisticated and had extensive logistics, using multiple modalities, one of them was the use of regular cargo boats, speedboats, stake trucks and buses for collective passenger transport, to transport illicit products of the areas of origin abroad, to their storage and distribution centers in Maicao and Barranquilla.
Among those arrested are its top ringleader alias Orlando and the second ringleader alias Carlos, as well as coordinators, managers, transporters, warehouse managers, logistics and security of the illegal organization. These operations generate powerful and direct damage to the criminal structures in the Colombian Caribbean and their sources of financing.
It should be noted that smuggling in Colombia, especially cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, directly hits public health, according to the Anti-smuggling Program of the National Federation of Departments, it is estimated that this problem denies the departments approximately two billion pesos in resources that should be allocated for healthcare every year.
Source: Press – Navy of Colombia
