Colombian authorities confirmed on Tuesday the capture of 17 people required for extradition by Portugal, Italy, Spain, Peru, Brazil and the Dominican Republic, most for crimes related to drug trafficking and money laundering.
One of them is a pilot with alleged links to the First Capital Command criminal organization, one of those investigated by Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci, who was recently murdered on the beaches of the Colombian Caribbean by armed men who were traveling on a jet ski. The Colombian police investigates if this gang from Brazil was involved in the crime of the fiscal agent.
The pilot was identified as Diego Mauricio Blanco Blanco, requested by Brazil to answer for alleged drug trafficking charges. According to the Colombian police, Blanco would be linked to a gang dedicated to drug trafficking in the region that was led by Luiz Carlos da Rocha, a capo captured in 2017.
The main hypothesis of Pecci’s murder is that he was attacked for his work against transnational crime, which is why the authorities have placed special emphasis on the illegal groups he was investigating, without indicating who would be the alleged perpetrator.
Colombia also captured Roberto Amoruso, who is required by Italy and accused of allegedly being the promoter of fraud against the public treasury in that country for millions of euros.
Among those captured there are 11 Colombians, two Venezuelans, a Dominican, an Italian, a Dutch and an Albanian. The operations were carried out in different parts of the country, such as Bogotá, Antioquia, Bolívar, Atlántico and Valle del Cauca.
