• The criminal network would also be responsible for smuggling merchandise. The illegal activities were committed since August 2023.
  • The investigation showed that the migrants would come from Venezuela and their destination would be Ipiales (Nariño) and Necoclí (Antioquia).

The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted 10 members of the National Police and 9 private individuals in Norte de Santander who would be part of a criminal group involved in irregularly mobilizing migrants and bringing smuggled goods through the improvised border crossings located between Colombia and Venezuela.

The defendants were charged, according to their individual responsibilities, with conspiracy to commit a crime, active bribery, bribery (giving or offering), human smuggling, drug trafficking, aiding and abetting smuggling, breach of duty, and procedural fraud. None of them pleaded guilty to the charges.

The arrests were carried out by Dijín of the National Police in Villavicencio (Meta), Cúcuta and El Zulia (Norte de Santander). During the operations, 16 cell phones and 365 auto parts were seized.

According to the investigation, between August 2023 and last June, the illegal organization allegedly brought Venezuelan citizens into national territory who were interested in reaching Ipiales (Nariño) and Necoclí (Antioquia).

Judicial police work determined that the illegal organization used a property in the historic area of Villa del Rosario (Norte de Santander) where, it is believed, the crimes were planned.

At the request of the Office of the Attorney General, a judge imposed a prison sentence on the members of the National Police. The private individuals must serve house arrest.

The defendants

The police officers who were prosecuted are: Carlos Fernando Escobar Urbina, Alexis Reyes Monsalve, Fernando Enrique Pérez Canoles, Juan Carlos Jurado Carvajal, Viviana Alexandra Arévalo Orejuela, Mauri Alejandro Rojas Bravo, Jefferson Páez Urrego, David Alexander Paredes Huaman, Fredy Orlando Jerez Becerra and Humberto Jaime Blanco Flórez.

The private individuals who were prosecuted are: Hibar Jesús Botello Rincón, alias Chucho or Medidas; Jorge Rodríguez Porras, alias Wicho; Yeferson Alexander Toro, alias El Paisa; Diomedes Díaz Porras, alias Diomedes; Juan de Jesús Alvarado Núñez, alias Carepiedra; Lilibeth del Carmen Borge Vidal; Samuel Gustavo Sánchez González, alias Flow; Eduardo Jesús González León and Irene Yovana Hurtado Luque.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out 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.