NewsWhore
08-22-2006, 06:20 PM
As part of the decision to crack the drug traffickers' hold on the Dominican Republic, the government has announced that it plans to purchase radars to combat the use of Dominican territory for drug trafficking. The new president of the National Drug Control Department (DNCD), Major General Rafael Ramirez Ferreiras said that the government department is working closely with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Drug trafficking operations used to be largely centered in Haiti, but Haitian saboteurs made these operations dangerous, and most of the traffic was re-routed for stopover points in the DR. The problem has been that local operators are paid in drugs, which they later need to sell locally. The resulting increase in drug consumption has in turn brought an increase in drugs. Statistics show that one in every five murders are related to narcotics consumption or trafficking.
Yesterday, news reports indicated that 20 sales points were dismantled in the Cibao (Santiago) region, and 17 people were arrested while carrying out drug transactions. A Dominican resident in the US was arrested when attempting to export 730 grams of heroin to New York through Santiago's Cibao Airport.
The DNCD also announced the arrest and change of agents assigned to the Santo Domingo Oriental division (eastern Santo Domingo). Likewise, staff at DNCD offices in San Francisco de Macoris, Barahona and Las Americas International Airport (Santo Domingo) were removed.
The Fernandez administration recently announced that it would dismantle 20,000 known narcotics sales points in the country. A laissez-faire and complacent approach on the part of the authorities in their dealings with drug traffickers led to the burgeoning of drug sales points from an estimated 2,000 in the year 2000 to 20,000 at present. The authorities now hope to reverse this process and are working closely with the Police, Armed Forces and state prosecutors. The judiciary is the last link in the chain. Statistics show that to date, the judiciary has been lax in penalizing drug traffickers.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
Yesterday, news reports indicated that 20 sales points were dismantled in the Cibao (Santiago) region, and 17 people were arrested while carrying out drug transactions. A Dominican resident in the US was arrested when attempting to export 730 grams of heroin to New York through Santiago's Cibao Airport.
The DNCD also announced the arrest and change of agents assigned to the Santo Domingo Oriental division (eastern Santo Domingo). Likewise, staff at DNCD offices in San Francisco de Macoris, Barahona and Las Americas International Airport (Santo Domingo) were removed.
The Fernandez administration recently announced that it would dismantle 20,000 known narcotics sales points in the country. A laissez-faire and complacent approach on the part of the authorities in their dealings with drug traffickers led to the burgeoning of drug sales points from an estimated 2,000 in the year 2000 to 20,000 at present. The authorities now hope to reverse this process and are working closely with the Police, Armed Forces and state prosecutors. The judiciary is the last link in the chain. Statistics show that to date, the judiciary has been lax in penalizing drug traffickers.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)