A Colombian court has sentenced 57 members of the criminal gang “Los Rastrojos” to jail, prosecutors said Tuesday.
“The National Prosecution Unit against emerging bands presented sufficient evidence to apply sentences ranging from 4 to 7 years in prison for committing conspiracy,” reported the office of the Prosecutor General.
Those sentenced were found guilty of committing criminal offenses around the San Juan and Atrato rivers, which run through the western Choco department. Some of the accused still have cases pending for homicide and terrorism.
The Rastrojos are considered to be Colombia’s largest drug trafficking organization and dominate exports from the Pacific coast region of the country. Their origins lie in the now-extinct Cali and the Norte del Valle cartels.