Nine people were arrested and among them, the municipal registrars of Ábrego and Sardinata (Norte de Santander).

In a joint operation carried out by the CTI of the Office of the Attorney General, Migration authorities in Colombia and the National Army, with the support of the National Registry and the United States Embassy, ​​a criminal network allegedly involved in illegally obtaining identity documents was dismantled.

Nine alleged members of the illegal organization were arrested, including former officials and public servants.

These people are accused of illegally faking nationalities from other countries such as Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Apparently, in exchange for money, they provided foreign citizens with civil registries, identity cards and passports, which were irregularly issued by the Registry Offices in Ábrego and Sardinata (Norte de Santander).

The evidence shows that the identification documents had been processed and supported with false information and statements from alleged witnesses, who indicated that the applicants were born in Colombia or lived in the country for several years. There are indications of some cases in which, with this documentation, visas were requested to enter the United States and European countries.

The people involved in this activity were brought before a supervisory judge. The Office of the Attorney General charged them, according to their level of participation, with conspiracy to commit a crime, ideological representation in a public document, passive bribery, breach of duty, bribery, and forgery of a public document. The defendants did not plead guilty to the charges.

The defendants are:

  • Francisco Alberto Páez Vergel, municipal registrar in Ábrego (Norte de Santander).
  • Carlos Octavio Ramírez Tabares, municipal registrar in Sardinata (Norte de Santander).
  • Elkin Eduardo Bacca Sánchez, administrative staff of the Registry Office in Abrego (Norte de Santander).
  • María del Pilar Montejo Gelvez, registrar´s wife in Sardinata and person in charge of carrying out proceedings.
  • Ayda Luz Sánchez García, former employee of the Registry Office in Sardinata (Registraduría Municipal)
  • Carmen Cecilia Cañas Morantes, a former employee of the Registry Office
  • Emilse Conde Durán, alias La Mona, the alleged person who coordinated the network
  • Carlos Eduardo Jaimes Vera, alias La Mona´s husband and alleged person in charge of carrying out proceedings.
  • Jaime Olivares Acevedo, an alleged person in charge of carrying out proceedings.

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.

When we speak, results follow.

 

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out the criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.