A broad operation by the OS9 of Carabineros, with support from the GOPE, ended in the early hours of Friday, June 14, with the arrest of nine gendarmes from the La Serena prison and a former official of the penitentiary institution. The subjects were arrested for various crimes, which are being investigated within the framework of an investigative focus “to combat organized crime in prisons”, initiated by the Public Ministry about a year ago.
The police raid on the accused’s house garnered press coverage that day, while the first details of an alleged arms trafficking network became known, of which – until now – six inmates from different prisons in the area were part. country, and which was articulated from the Coquimbo Region.
According to what was reported by the Prosecutor’s Office, the role of the gendarmes would be configured by actions to introduce prohibited elements to the prison complex, so the deployment in their homes served to seize drugs, cash, weapons and ammunition, which would account for of these facts.
It should be noted that, along with the gendarmes and the aforementioned inmates, civilians were also charged with crimes in the formalization, carried out between Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th. In total, there are 20 subjects who have appeared before justice and who have ended with various precautionary measures.
The case will also have actions in the coming days, since the prosecuting entity announced that it will file an appeal, after the court rejected preventive detention in some cases.
Read also: Captain of the Huachalalume Gendarmerie led a corruption network according to the Prosecutor’s Office
Money laundering
El Día compiled new information about the accusation made by the Public Ministry and that points to a crucial piece of information, revealed by the western metropolitan prosecutor Marcos Pastén after the formalization. This is the It him wealth bulge of officials as a result of illegal activities.
“They had an increase in their assets, in some cases, of up to 270% of the value of their income,” said the prosecutor.
It is at this point where the civilians who were detained and whose role in the case has taken a backseat to the situation that affects the Chilean Gendarmerie come into play.
According to the information collected by El Día, these four people fundamentally have two roles within the events investigated.
Some are partners of the gendarmes, who operated as “front men” for money laundering and concealing assets. Also, it was determined that they lent their accounts to pay the money collected by the defendants for the sale of weapons and ammunition to inmates.
Within the group of civilians there are also relatives of the inmates who acted as recipients of the money charged to them in these transactions. They were also in charge of showing or delivering the weapons or ammunition that were sold.
Read also: Weapons, ammunition and drugs: The arsenal found in the Huachalalume gendarmes’ house
“Solid background”
The defense of the detainees has questioned the accusation made by the Prosecutor’s Office, dismissing that it is a large arms trafficking network led by a Gendarmerie captain in La Serena.
It should be noted that of all the detained officials, only three remained in preventive detention.
When asked about this fact and how it would affect the solidity of the case, the Western Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office indicated that “the investigation and background of this case are solid. In fact, the court accredited the existence of the crimes of bribery, arms trafficking and money laundering, among other crimes.”
Likewise, they indicated that the investigation “has shown that the defendants operated under the same structure, with specific roles and functions,” also highlighting the fact that “during the formalization hearing, they all presented the same defense attorney.”
Read also: Corruption in the Gendarmerie: defense of detained officials accuse the Prosecutor’s Office of setting it up
“Based on this conviction, the Western Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office will appeal the decision of the Seventh Guarantee Court, which did not agree to the requests for preventive detention for all the Gendarmerie officials involved in this case. This Regional Prosecutor’s Office considers the participation of the accused in this network that provided support and coverage to inmates for the commission of different crimes inside the La Serena prison in exchange for the payment of sums of money as serious events. The fact that they are public officials aggravates, in the opinion of the Prosecutor’s Office, the crimes committed by the defendants in this case,” they added.
The Prosecutor’s Office also indicated that in the coming days “the proceedings in this case will continue, so we expect progress both in the background of the investigation and in its processing.”
