300 extortionists were captured and some 71 anti-gang operations orchestrated by Colombia’s intelligence agency DAS, who delivered their annual balance report Wednesday.
The balance was delivered by DAS director Felipe Munoz who indicated that while 2009 has been one of the most challenging year for the intelligence agency, prominent successes have included attacks on extortion, corruption, human trafficking and against networks dedicated to counterfeit money.
Some of the year’s most notable cases included irregularities in the ETESA company regarding tax evasion through the operation of illegal gambling machines, the awarding of property seized from the Mafia by anti-drugs agency DNE where it emerged that ‘royalty’ had been given to individuals and lastly, the case involving the comptroller of San Andres blackmailed the governor of the island.
Valle, Bogota and Cundinamarca were the locations where most clandestine printing of fake currency were found. A total of 19 million dollars was seized, reported newspaper El Tiempo Wednesday.
With regard to border security, DAS has contributed to the dismantling of an network which in less than a year had emerged to carry out the illegal transportation of foreign citizens, mainly Africans, to the U.S. using Colombia as a transit country.
Munoz said that although there were few arrests regarding this case (five in total), DAS captured the leader of the immigrant network and further investigations identified dozens of people in different parts of the world who were linked to this network.
In relation to Colombia’s emerging gangs, the DAS claimed it orchestrated the 71 counter operations which resulted in 187 arrests.