Money had allegedly changed hands and a weapon had been smuggled into Andres Sepulveda’s prison to kill the hacker accused of espionage and illegal communication interceptions, according to Colombia’s Prosecutor General, Eduardo Montealegre on Monday.
Andres Sepulveda was arrested during the 2014 presidential elections in a scandal involving opposition candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluaga.
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Intelligence work done by the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Prosecutor General’s office was able to establish that a weapon had entered ‘La Picota’ prison to kill Andres Sepulveda, according to a government press release.
The danger also extended to Sepulveda’s wife and daughter who have now been put under 24-hour protective surveillance by the national police.
According to the press release, traces of money were detected to pay for the murder of Andres Sepulveda and an investigation is currently underway to identify who is behind the assassination attempt.
Sepulveda has been moved to the Prosecutor General’s ‘Bunker’ for his own safety under police protection.
Sepulveda is charged with illegal interception of communications of the peace delegations in Cuba, espionage, violation of personal data, malicious use of software, and excessive abuse of information systems, according to the press release.