Navy officials arrested for drug cartel ‘links’

Colombian authorities arrest six navy officials suspected of being in the pay of one of Colombia’s most powerful drug cartels, “Los Rastrojos.”

According to newspaper El Espectador, the country’s Prosector General announced that the six navy officials were suspected members of drug gang Los Rastrojos, which is mostly active near Colombia’s Pacific coast.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said it had dismantled a criminal network, in which three officers, two non-commissioned officers, and a marine were receiving bribes for allowing the criminal activities of the drug gang in the municipalities of Tumaco and Mosquera in the Nariño department.

The Prosecutor’s General Office has submitted the findings of their investigation to a judge, who will determine in the next few hours whether to hold the suspects.

Los Rastrojos, one of the strongest paramilitary organizations in Colombia, operates mainly in the Pacific region.

The Colombian government has amplified efforts to crack down on the group, arresting 14 members in June and capturing the leader of the group shortly after.

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