NewsWhore
10-07-2010, 04:10 PM
The FBI announced that 133 people, most police officers, were arrested yesterday in a massive public corruption takedown in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The case is thought to be "the largest police corruption case in the FBI's history." Nearly 1,000 Bureau personnel from 50 of their 56 field offices were in San Juan for the takedown.
61 Puerto Rican Police Department officers were charged with drug trafficking and the use of a firearm while committing these crimes. 16 officers from other municipal police departments, a dozen Puerto Rican Department of Corrections officers, members of the National Guard, and two US Army soldiers were charged. All face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case, dubbed Operation Guard Shack, began more than two years ago, when then-FBI Special Agent Jose Figueroa Sancha, now chief of the Puerto Rico Police Department, began an investigation into corrupt San Juan police officers.
The FBI reports that one of their undercover agents posing as a dealer selling multiple kilos of cocaine put the word out that he needed security during drug deals. Many of those who responded were cops. They actively took part in the transactions by carrying weapons and patting down the drug buyers - who were actually FBI informants. For their protection efforts, the cops were paid between US$500 and US$4,000 for each drug deal. In all, more than US$500,000 was paid in protection money.
The operation is expected to have repercussions on drug trafficking operations in the DR given that Puerto Rico is a leading market for drug transshipped through this country.
In an editorial, Listin Diario comments that the Dominican authorities should take advantage of the experience of the FBI to act rapidly against the advances of drug traffickers in the DR.
"It is almost impossible not to see the DR reflected in this event. The proximity of the two islands and the vulnerability of the territorial waters allow most of the drugs shipped to Puerto Rico to come from the Dominican east," comments the editorial writer.
It makes the point that the anti-drugs operation in Puerto Rico puts a spotlight on the way in which the powerful business of drugs has penetrated almost all state institutions and police and military echelons of the neighboring island.
"The reality of the Puerto Ricans is not different to that of Dominicans. In recent times many police and military officers have been involved in crimes related to drug trafficking, and some are being tried here and in the US," recalls the editorial.
www.fbi.gov/page2/oct10/sanjuan_100610.html (http://www.fbi.gov/page2/oct10/sanjuan_100610.html)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)
61 Puerto Rican Police Department officers were charged with drug trafficking and the use of a firearm while committing these crimes. 16 officers from other municipal police departments, a dozen Puerto Rican Department of Corrections officers, members of the National Guard, and two US Army soldiers were charged. All face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case, dubbed Operation Guard Shack, began more than two years ago, when then-FBI Special Agent Jose Figueroa Sancha, now chief of the Puerto Rico Police Department, began an investigation into corrupt San Juan police officers.
The FBI reports that one of their undercover agents posing as a dealer selling multiple kilos of cocaine put the word out that he needed security during drug deals. Many of those who responded were cops. They actively took part in the transactions by carrying weapons and patting down the drug buyers - who were actually FBI informants. For their protection efforts, the cops were paid between US$500 and US$4,000 for each drug deal. In all, more than US$500,000 was paid in protection money.
The operation is expected to have repercussions on drug trafficking operations in the DR given that Puerto Rico is a leading market for drug transshipped through this country.
In an editorial, Listin Diario comments that the Dominican authorities should take advantage of the experience of the FBI to act rapidly against the advances of drug traffickers in the DR.
"It is almost impossible not to see the DR reflected in this event. The proximity of the two islands and the vulnerability of the territorial waters allow most of the drugs shipped to Puerto Rico to come from the Dominican east," comments the editorial writer.
It makes the point that the anti-drugs operation in Puerto Rico puts a spotlight on the way in which the powerful business of drugs has penetrated almost all state institutions and police and military echelons of the neighboring island.
"The reality of the Puerto Ricans is not different to that of Dominicans. In recent times many police and military officers have been involved in crimes related to drug trafficking, and some are being tried here and in the US," recalls the editorial.
www.fbi.gov/page2/oct10/sanjuan_100610.html (http://www.fbi.gov/page2/oct10/sanjuan_100610.html)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)