Colombian authorities have been investigating ties to several figureheads who served the recently captured “El Loco Barrera” by minding various properties and goods that the drug lord is attributed to.
Considered the country’s most important drug leader of the last decade, Daniel “El Loco” Barrera allegedly owns property and goods in central Colombia looked after by at least three possible figureheads who authorities are currently looking into, reported magazine Semana Wednesday.
“The last of the great capos,” as designated by President Juan Manuel Santos, was arrested in a Venezuelan town little more than 10 miles from the Colombian border Tuesday while making a phone call.
At 5:45 in the afternoon of that day, just seconds before his capture, Barrera allegedly spoke with one of his figureheads in Colombia to give him instructions about the sale of one of his various properties in the central department of Meta.
Colombian prosecution has been tracing various properties and goods under the names of Barrera’s figureheads in the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyaca, Tolima, Meta and Santander. According to prosecutor Eduardo Montealegre, there are at least 100 properties attributed to the drug lord that are currently under a process of forfeiture.
“There are four processes of possible figureheads considered people who who served Barrera to help hide his goods,” said the head investigator from central Colombia.
Authorities look to establish more concrete ties between the detained capo and three of his subjects, whose names allegedly appear in a list of ownership pertaining to 40 urban properties, 29 rural, seven business establishments, and three other partnerships located in the forementioned departments, according to Semana.
One of the supposed partners of Barrera also suggests that the drug lord could be linked with members of the FARC’s 43rd Front, who would together have under their name another 30 rural properties and 13 urban, 10 local businesses and two vehicles found in Meta and Cundinamarca in the central of the country.
Though Colombia has asked for the extradition of the drug lord, Montealegre has that as of now there has not been another formal solicit from the United States to extradite the criminal there.
“For the moment there is only a capture order made by the prosecution for the crime of drug trafficking,” said the head investigator.
El Loco Barrera is considered one of the biggest Colombian capos of the past ten years who has been involved with drug trafficking since the late 1980s. The drug lord was arrested and briefly detained in 1990 but escaped prison and was able to expand his drug business uninterrupted until Tuesday even though a red notice alert was issued from Interpol for Barrera in November 2010.
