National police dismantled an international drug ring after several arrests in Bogota, Miami and the western Colombian cities of Tulua and Buenaventura.
The drug smuggling network operated primarily out of airports in Bogota and Cali, with the complicity of several security staff.
“This network, led by Victor Manuel Ramirez Montana, a Colombian national, and Oswaldo Wally Lora, a U.S. citizen that has specialized in contraband parcels, suitcases with false bottoms and the use of couriers, especially foreigners, to send cocaine hydrochloride to Europe,” said Director of Narcotics, General Luis Alberto Perez.
The investigation began with the arrest of an American member of the drug ring, Deion Lemar Burton. The former U.S. naval officer was caught with five kg of cocaine in Bogota’s El Dorado airport in October 2011.
Three U.S. citizens await extradition for their roles in the drug smuggling operation. Five Colombian nationals will also appear in court for charges related to drug trafficking.