In a joint operation between Colombian and US authorities, a criminal network dedicated to laundering assets from drug trafficking was dismantled. The operation, called Red Rose, was carried out by the Colombian National Police, the Attorney General’s Office and the United States Anti-Drug Agency (DEA).
During the procedures 21 people were captured – 10 of them extraditable – of which 12 were detained in Colombia and nine in the United States. In the country, arrests were made in Bogotá, Cali, Leticia, Villavicencio and Medellín.
Among those arrested is José Manuel Frías López, alias Don José, identified as one of the main leaders of the criminal structure. According to research, alias Don José, of Dominican origin, was in charge of coordinating cocaine shipments to Mexican cartels and its subsequent entry into the United Statesin addition to facilitating money laundering through a hotel chain.
This 61-year-old criminal moved around different countries to balance his businesses. Authorities detailed entries and exits to Mexico City (Mexico), Quito (Ecuador), Madrid (Spain), Paris (France), Frankfurt (Germany) and New York (USA).
This is how ‘Don José’s’ organization operated
The criminal network had the capacity to move approximately 2.5 million dollars a month, coming from drug trafficking, with deliveries registered in Bogotá and Cali. In addition, the shipment of nearly 500 kilos of cocaine per month from the port of Buenaventura to the United States was prevented.
“The criminal organization used the modality of ‘smurfing’ and money laundering, through exchange houses, to later bank the illicit money in the financial system, making transfers through hotel companies and commercial establishments,” the general explained. William Salamanca, director of the Colombian Police.
The same group is responsible, according to authorities, for the shipment of 500 kilos of cocaine monthly from the port of Buenaventura, in the Colombian Pacific, to Puerto Rico and Central American countries, with the final destination being the United States.
During the course of the investigation 1.1 million dollars, 34 kilos of cocaine hydrochloride, 2 kilos of heroin, 2.5 kilos and 75 thousand fentanyl pills, 15 kilos of synthetic drugs and 8 firearms were seized in Colombia. In the United States, 2.5 kilos of cocaine, 500 grams of methamphetamine and 4,000 fentanyl pills were seized, preventing more than 1,330,000 doses of narcotics from reaching the streets.
Those captured will face charges of money laundering, trafficking, manufacture or possession of narcotics, front man and conspiracy to commit a crime. The authorities do not rule out that those detained in Colombia may be requested for extradition, depending on the development of the judicial process.
