Colombian police on Monday announced the capture of a Cali pilot thought to be involved in a U.S.-Colombian drug-trafficking operation, as a result of the new phase of “Operation Frontiers,” reported El Espectador.
Police chief Oscar Naranjo in February announced a new phase of the international operation, which is designed to dismantle one of the largest-ever drug-trafficking cartels run jointly by U.S and Colombian criminals.
In its first phase “Operation Frontiers” captured 22 people suspected of being involved in the cartel, while its latest stage saw the arrest of pilot Castaño Mendez, alias “Beto,” who is thought to be the main point of contact between different braches of the cartel, organising the buying, selling and preparation of aircrafts for the transportation of narcotics.
Mendez is also suspected of transporting cocaine from Colombia to locations in Central America.
Mendez was also arrested for money laundering in October 2008 and released on parole in March 2009.
Naranjo explained that for “Operation Frontiers” Colombia’s national police would be working closely with the North American authorities and Colombia’s prosecutor general.
