A criminal network involved in concealing cocaine in containers leaving the Port of Barranquilla, headed for the Netherlands and France, was dismantled

Eight people were prosecuted and sent to prison, including employees of a logistics and operations company in the marine terminal.

The joint action of the Attorney General’s Office, the Anti-Narcotics Directorate of the National Police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) led to the identification of a criminal network accused of removing containers from the Port of Barranquilla (Atlántico), loading them with various quantities of cocaine hydrochloride, and returning them to the maritime terminal for shipment to France and the Netherlands.

Eight alleged members of the illegal organization were arrested in operations conducted in Barranquilla, Soledad and Sabanagrande (Atlántico), and Santa Marta (Magdalena), including employees of a logistics and port operations company. A prosecutor appointed to the Directorate specialized in the fight against Drug Trafficking brought them before a judge and charged them with trafficking, manufacturing, or possession of narcotics.

The defendants did not plead guilty to the charges and were sent to prison.

The decision is related to: Jesús David Almeira Pérez, Wilson Mena Elles, Emerson Deyvis Vergel Guevara, Grace Yiretd Márquez Pérez, Ismael Antonio Cera Rivera, Jesús Manuel Manajerrés Ramírez, Marlos Mauricio Marimon Mendoza and Wanderley Alberto Gallardo Llanos.

These people are accused of fulfilling different criminal roles, including arranging machinery and vehicles to facilitate the transport of containers to peripheral areas of Barranquilla, where they were contaminated with narcotics; and who would be responsible for concealing the illicit substance and returning the containers to be sent to Europe.

During the investigation, a little more than a ton of cocaine hydrochloride was seized from this network.

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

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.