In a raid carried out by the Dominican authorities in conjunction with the United States Marshalls, alleged drug traffickers Vladimir Natera Abreu and Joset Jomar Rivera Verdejo, who have been wanted in the country by the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) since 2019, were arrested. .
The search and capture operation was carried out this Sunday in conjunction with the Attorney General’s office and the DNCD in Gil Roma XX Tower, in Evaristo Morales.
Authorities reported that both drug traffickers are being held at DNCD headquarters and are in custody by Marshalls, Marshals of the United States.
Authorities reported through a press release that the process for their delivery to Puerto Rico will begin in the next few hours, where they have pending cases in the courts for crimes related to drug trafficking.
Authorities also explained that his arrest took place as part of the strategies they are implementing against the drug trade in the country.
They reported that Sunday’s operation is part of the Dominican state’s international cooperative efforts against organized crime.
Wanted since 2019
Natera Abreu, considered the largest cocaine trafficker in Puerto Rico, is accused of being the alleged leader of the Cantera Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) drug gang.
Members of the powerful FARC drug gang had friendships and “strong ties” in the Dominican Republic, according to what was stated in March 2019 by the then spokesman for the federal marshals of the United States, Pedro Fortier.
This criminal organization was dedicated to the distribution of narcotics from South America and used the Dominican Republic as a “springboard” to send drugs to Puerto Rico, where it operated specifically in Santurce, San Juan.
On March 10, 2019, Dominican authorities reported the arrest of four Puerto Ricans reportedly associated with the FARC.
Those arrested included Fernando Hilario Figueroa, who was previously arrested for the murder of drug trafficker Carlos Giovanni Báez Rosa (Tonka), and Janelys Delgado, who was reportedly dating Natera Abreu.
The other two people who were arrested on that occasion linked to the FARC organization, the murder of Tonka and the death of ragman Kevin Fret are Edison Merced Oliveras (Chinese) and Waldemar Febres Sánchez, both were extradited to Puerto Rico.
For his part, Joset Jomar Rivera Verdejo, another accused by the Puerto Rican justice and arrested along with Vladimir Natera, is also linked to the death of Ferret, murdered on January 11, 2019. The 24-year-old was shot eight times while he was driving his car. motorcycle in San Juan.
In February last year, the media in Puerto Rico reported that Vladimir Natera Abreu had been arrested in the Dominican Republic without confirming the information with the country’s authorities, but it was this Sunday that his arrest was confirmed.