In the first 24 hours of a major operation against criminal gangs in Bogota, the national police arrested 115 people including two men wanted for extradition.
National police chief General Oscar Naranjo told Radio Santa Fe Tuesday that the first 24 hours of the operation saw 115 people arrested, and 20 firearms and over 1,000 knives seized from the streets of Bogota.
Among the individuals arrested are two men wanted for extradition to Argentina for burglary, the general told Radio Santa Fe. The two men are also wanted in Colombia for various charges including arms and drug trafficking and burglary.
On Monday, 2,500 members of the national police arrived in Bogota in an operation to combat the crime wave that has hit the city in recent weeks.
The first 24 hours of the operation, according to Naranjo, saw 268 police raids, 320 voluntary searches, two police operations in the so-called “Bronx” neighborhood of Bogota and the removal of 85 vehicles from the streets.
In the broadcast, Naranjo also mentioned implementing a plan to increase security for high school and college students in the capital. On Saturday, armed bandits stormed a girls’ school and robbed students waiting to buy textbooks.