Two former operatives from Colombia’s intelligence agency DAS were arrested for allegedly leaking information to the criminal organisation headed by the drug-lord and paramilitary Pedro Olivero Guerrero, alias “Cuchillo.”
Said Esneider Enciso and Jesus Benjamin Moreno, who used to work at the the security body’s branch located in the central Colombian department of Meta, were arrested by former colleagues Thursday. Moreno had reportedly opened various stores and was seen in expensive cars, despite taking home a modest salary.
Enciso and Moreno are believed to be part of a group of at least four agents who were tipping off Cuchillo’s men, allowing them to evade DAS searches. The four operatives are said to have leaked the information to Freddy Alonso Tamayo, Cuchillo’s third-in-command, from DAS offices in the towns of Puerto Gaitan, Granada, San Martin and Puerto Lopez.. The two other suspects are still at large.
The DAS has been plagued by scandal in recent months. Alongside claims that it has been infiltrated by criminal gangs, the security service was at the centre of accusations that it illegally wire-tapped judges, politicians and journalists. The spying allegations led to a purge in which 116 of the body’s employees were fired. The scandal prompted DAS director Felipe Muñoz to recommend that his own organisation be dissolved.