The defendants allegedly transported more than a ton of cocaine paste in seven opportunities between March 15, 2022, and January 26, 2024.
The evidence provided by the Attorney General’s Office allowed a judge to impose a prison sentence on five alleged members of the so-called La Firma drug trafficking network, accused of purchasing narcotics in Caquetá and transporting them in trucks to Antioquia and Valle del Cauca.
The people involved are Melquisedec Parra, alleged ringleader, Gustavo Adolfo Medina Ortiz, Carlos Alberto Silva Moreno, and the brothers Juan José and Carlos Emilio Otálora García, who were arrested by CTI officers, with the support of the Anti-Narcotics Police and the National Army in Belén de Los Andaquíes (Caquetá) and Neiva and Elías (Huila).
The defendants were allegedly involved in the transport of more than one ton of cocaine paste in seven occasions between March 15, 2022 and January 26, 2024.
The Prosecutor’s Office charged the defendants, according to their individual responsibilities, with conspiracy to commit crimes for drug trafficking purposes, and trafficking, manufacture or possession of narcotics, both aggravated. They did not plead guilty to the charges.
The judicial police work revealed that the suspects allegedly obtained the substances in municipalities located in the south area of Caquetá, such as Valparaíso, Solita, Belén de Los Andaquíes and San José del Fragua. Then, they were transported by land to be sold in the interior of the country as cocaine hydrochlorid at a higher cost.
During the two and a half year investigation, seven vehicles were immobilized to the so-called La Firma, which were generally used to transport cattle and dressed beef carcass in order to hide the narcotics in them.
Among the judicial police activities, more than 80 wiretappings of cell phones belonging to members of the criminal group, selective searches in databases, surveillance and monitoring of people, inspections of judicial processes, among others, can be highlighted.
During this period, 8 people were also arrested in flagrante delicto. One of them was Juan José Otálora who was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months in prison for trafficking, manufacture or possession of narcotics.
The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.
