Police have captured drug-trafficker “Chiqui”, an alleged ringleader of “Los Paisas” criminal gang based on the islands of San Andres and Providencia, RCN Radio reported on Thursday.
Commander of the Cartagena Metropolitan Police, General Ricardo Restrepo confirmed that Chiqui, real name Juan Carlos Duarte Gutierrez, was captured in Cartagena during a raid on an apartment complex that also saw the seizure of a firearm and 9mm ammunition.
Chiqui was also one of the most wanted men from the Caribbean Islands and has been linked to a number of murders in 2010 and 2011 as well as extortion of local merchants in an ongoing gang war between Los Paisas and aliases “Mellos” and “Los Palma”.
He is currently being held in San Sebastian prison in Cartagena, having been recently sentenced in absentia to 36 months for the illegal manufacturing of weapons.