Police reported progress in the fight against crime with a reported drop from 33 criminal gangs in Colombia in 2006 to six in 2009. So far this year police have arrested 2,182 members of criminal gangs, according to the Defense Ministry.
The Integrated Center for Intelligence against Criminal Groups (CIIBC) reported that in 2006 there were 33 criminal groups with 4,000 armed men, and in 2009 there are six groups active with 2,579 armed men and a further 1,170 men associated with the groups.
These figures amount to an 82% reduction in the number of groups and a 6% drop in the number of members of the groups, the Defense Ministry reported Monday.
The CIIBC also reported that two criminal groups have “disappeared” in the last few years in the sense that they were “absorbed by other criminal groups”. ‘Nueva Generacion’ and ‘Magdalena Medio’ became part of ‘Los Rastrojos’, ‘Los Urabeños’ and ‘Los Paisas’, according to CIIBC.
This information contradicts an announcement by the Prosecutor General last Thursday that seven main gangs are operational in Colombia, among them ‘Nueva Generacion’.
Between January 1 and November 30 of this year 2,182 gang members were arrested in 406 operations against these criminal gangs and 815 weapons were seized. Police reportedly seized 19.7 tons of drugs belonging to these groups.