After a two year-long investigation, Colombia’s intelligence service DAS and the navy have busted an international group smuggling arms from Central America to gangs in Colombia, according to a DAS press release.
The two year operation, code-named “Operacion Meridiano,” resulted in the arrests of several people in Cartagena and San Andres.
Investigators claim that the ring smuggled items such as rockets, rifles and machine guns, for sale to criminal gangs in Colombia, such as the paramilitary group “Los Rastrojos.”
According to DAS, the arms were being trafficked from Central American countries to the Colombian island of San Andres, where they were later smuggled to mainland Colombia via plane and “go-fast” speed boats.
The intelligence collected during the operation also enabled authorities to map out the routes used by traffickers, which helped authorities intercept a 1800 kg shipment of cocaine hydrochloride last June, according to the press release.
Authorities are still looking for the network’s ring leader, Luis Fernando Gomez Gomez, alias “Mono Parrando.” According to DAS, there is a COP30 million ($15,000) reward for information leading to his capture.