Rebels trafficking drugs for the guerrilla group ELN have been captured, the National Police told Colombia Reports Tuesday.
12 guerrilla members were caught in six different cities of the country for exporting drugs from Venezuela under the orders of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
The operation had been lead by Orlando Moreno Torres, alias “Doble Cero” or “El Patron,” who was caught with 857 kilos of narcotics and 10 luxury vehicles after two years of investigation. Colombian authorities had been working with the U.S. DEA to dismantle the organization dedicated to trafficking cocaine to international markets. Their earnings would have gone to the ELN.
During the capture of the 12 guerrilla members, two labs where the drugs had been processed were also destroyed. According to Colombian authorities, the coca base had been acquired in the south of the northern Bolivar department, and then transformed into cocaine in sophisticated labs throughout rural zones of the country where the ELN was known to have a presence.
The men will face charges with purposes of drug trafficking and the possession of narcotics.
During the investigation the police have also been trying to determine which members from the command center of the ELN would have profitted from the operation lead by Doble Cero, in order to identify movements of money laundering and extinguish further transactions.