Colombian authorities announced Thursday the capture of four individuals requested by the U.S. for extradition on drug trafficking charges, El Espectador reports.
The arrests came after a joint operation that lasted 18 months between the counter narcotics unit of Colombia’s National Police and the U.S. DEA.
The four — Wilson Chaverra, Alvaro Murillo, Margarita Lopez and Maximo Ramirez — were arrested in separate locations and are wanted by a Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The director of the counter narcotics unit, General Cesar Augusto Pinzon Arana, told media that the four had been responsible for the shipment of at least one ton of cocaine to the U.S., having worked in conjunction with the criminal gang “Los Paisas,” with whom they organized shipments.
Pinzon added, “These arrests contribute to the weakening of the financial structure of ‘Los Paisas’ which is running out of contacts to help export the drug.”
Notably, Wilson Chaverra, as well as heading the group of four, used to be the mayor of Vigia del Fuerte in the department of Antioquia between 1995 and 1997, and was currently campaigning for elections to be held this year for the position.
He is also alleged to have been instrumental in setting up contacts between Colombia, Honduras and Miami, destinations that provided key points as the drug was predominantly shipped via fishing boats under the guise of legitimate companies.
The four will now await extradition.