Colombian authorities on Tuesday announced the seizure of over $21 million in assets formerly belonging to captured drug lord, Daniel “El Loco” Barrera.
The operations that led to the seizure of $21.8 million worth of assets were initiated by the prosecutor general’s Unit for Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering, with the support of the police anti-narcotics division.
At least 425 goods, including property and vehicles, were confiscated by authorities in the departments of Cundinamarca, Meta, Boyaca, Santander, and Magdalena.
El Loco was arrested in Venezuela on September 18, 2012, as a result of an extensive operation between Colombia’s National Police, the U.S. intelligence agency CIA, British intelligence agency MI6 and the Venezuelan anti-narcotics police.
More: How ‘El Loco Barrera,’ Colombia’s biggest druglord, was arrested
Shortly after his arrest, Colombia agreed to extradite El Loco to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
More: Colombia to Extradite ‘El Loco Barrera’ to US
Recently it has also emerged that El Loco may have been connected to the Interbolsa scandal, which rocked Colombia’s financial world in 2012.
MORE: Interbolsa scandal’s ‘missing link’ to be extradited to U.S.
Daniel “El Loco” Barrera was considered to be “the last of the big capos” and had, before his capture, been involved in Colombia‘s drug trafficking since the 1980s. After the fall of the Medellin and Cali cartels in the 1990s, he became a top player in Colombia’s underworld.
PROFILE: Daniel ‘El Loco’ Barrera
Sources
- Fiscalia adelanto extincion de dominio contra bienes de ‘El Loco’ Barrera (El Espectador)
- Fiscalia decomiso bienes de testaferros de Daniel ‘El Loco’ Barrera (El Colombiano)
