The alleged leader of the criminal group ‘Los Costeños’ Héctor Dalay Díaz Collazos, alias de Héctor; and Deyanyelis Patricia Terán Rolong, alias Patricia. were arrested and prosecuted last week.

In Riohacha, La Guajira, the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa, referred to important results obtained in the framework of the so-called Operación Caribe carried out in the departments of La Guajira, Magdalena, Atlántico, Cesar, Sucre, Bolívar and San Andrés. A joint work with the National Police and the Military Forces allowed the development of a regional event for the benefit of public safety.

“The action of the Attorney General’s Office in all the territories, despite the existence of the pandemic, continues being effective in the territories. We are here in La Guajira, and we have hit criminals in different Departments of the country”, said the Attorney General.

These actions allowed to prosecute the alleged leader of the criminal group ‘Los Costeños’, Héctor Dalay Díaz Collazos, alias de Héctor; and Deyanyelis Patricia Terán Rolong, alias Patricia; who would have transported the grenade used in the attack perpetrated on January 12 downtown Barranquilla in which 14 people were injured.

Díaz Collazos was charged by the Office of the Attorney General with aggravated crime (sic); while Terán Rolong was charged with criminal conspiracy for the purpose of murder, drug trafficking, extortion, terrorism and aggravated murder.

 

1,036 arrests

In addition to the results, 1036 people were arrested in the last two weeks of April. Those involved would be involved in illicit conducts such as murders, sexual crimes, domestic violence, theft, kidnapping, trafficking hydrocarbon; trafficking, manufacture or possession of drugs; illegal possession of firearms, and escape of prisoners.

As a result of 99 home searches, 10 criminal structures that allegedly operate in La Guajira, Magdalena, Atlántico, Cesar, Sucre, Bolívar and San Andrés were dismantled. 69 of their alleged members were arrested, and 72 firearms, 2,280 cell phones, 1,440 bottles of adulterated liquor and more than 19,000 boxes of smuggled cigarettes were seized.

La Guajira

In this part of the country, the clarification of crimes that affect communities the most has increased. Between 2020 and 2021, domestic violence went from 16.92% to 45.74%; in sexual crimes from 10.53% to 26.39%; in murders from 17.31% to 21.88%; and in corruption from 7.35% to 23.81%.

The appointment of prosecutors and judicial police to deal with judicial police activities related to sexual crimes and domestic violence was decisive. In order to deal with these cases, two Center for Assistance of victims of Domestic Violence (Centro de Atención a Víctimas de Violencia Intrafamiliar -Cavif in Spanish) were opened; one in Fonseca and one in Maicao.

Regarding homicides, the protocol to handle the crime scene was improved to obtain enough evidence to locate those responsible in 36 hours, and the investigative work was strengthened in Maicao and Dibulla with two itinerant prosecutors and judicial police. This made it possible to impact 6 criminal structures that operated in Riohacha, Maicao and Albania.

Gangs that were impacted in the Caribbean Region:

  • La Laguna

As a result of a coordinated work between the Attorney General’s Office, the National Police and Gaula-Army, seven alleged members of a criminal organization involved in the commercialization of marijuana and cocaine in small quantities were arrested in the area known as La Laguna, in Riohacha (La Guajira). They were charged with trafficking, manufacture or possession of drugs.  Due to the conclusive evidence presented by the Office of the Attorney General, six of the people pleaded guilty to the charges. All of them must serve a prison sentence.

  • ‘Los Costeños’

The technical evidence obtained by the Office of the Attorney General and the National Police- Gaula revealed the network who committed extortions ‘Los Costeños’, which was involved in threats and extortions against businessmen, hotel managers, shopkeepers and women who engage in sexual activities downtown Barranquilla (Atlántico).

15 alleged members of this structure were arrested. A sectional prosecutor charged them with aggravated criminal conspiracy for murder purposes, terrorism, trafficking, manufacture or possession of drugs, extortion and other related crimes.

  • ‘Los Tunning’

At the request of the Office of the Attorney General, a supervisory judge issued a  prison sentence against five alleged members of the criminal gang ‘Los Tunning’, which are involved in the theft of motorcycles, homes, users of the financial system and commercial establishments.

Offensive in departments

  • Atlántico: 295 arrests (256 in flagrante delicto and 39 by virtue of a court order).
  • Sucre: 206 arrests (185 in flagrante delicto and 21 by virtue of a court order)
  • Bolívar: 179 arrests. 494 kilograms of cocaine were seized. Four structures were impacted (‘Los Insulares’, ‘Los Zoneros’, ‘Los Cachacos’ and ‘Los Pingüi’).
  • Magdalena: 144 arrests. 500 kilograms of cocaine were seized.
  • Cesar: 107 arrests. The criminal structures ‘Los Urban’ and ‘Desierto’ were dismantled.
  • San Andrés: 29 arrests. The criminal network ‘El Refugio’ was impacted.
  • La Guajira: 76 arrests (17 by virtue of court orders). And 15 organizations involved in extortion, drug trafficking and theft were discovered.

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.