COLOMBIA: Police confiscate assets worth an estimated $15 million dollars belonging to a drug trafficker closely linked to the much sought-after leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Chapo Guzman

Record ID: 587298

  • Title: COLOMBIA: Police confiscate assets worth an estimated $15 million dollars belonging to a drug trafficker closely linked to the much sought-after leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Chapo Guzman
  • Date: 27th April 2012
  • Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (APRIL 26, 2012) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF POLICE BUILDING COLOMBIAN AND POLICE FLAGS AT BUILDING'S ENTRANCE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL DIRECTORATE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE AND INTELLIGENCE, DIJIN, JOSE ROBERTO LEON RIANO AT NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL DIRECTORATE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE AND INTELLIGENCE, DIJIN, JOSE ROBERTO LEON RIANO, SAYING: "It involves the confiscation of 58 assets; 38 real estate properties, 15 companies, six luxury vehicles, and the title to a trust. It has to be said that in 2010 during the first phase of the operation the directorate of criminal investigation and Interpol launched an investigation into Pedro Antonio Bermudez Suaza's, alias 'The Architect,' assets. He is a trusted confidant of one of the most wanted drug lords in the world, maybe even the most important drug lord, whose name is El Chapo Guzman, the boss of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel." GENERAL VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 12th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Colombia, Colombia
  • Country: Colombia
  • Reuters ID: LVA3FF5DEDW5347SSRGVOOAZDVZQ
  • Story Text: Colombian police on Thursday (April 26) said they had seized more than $15 million dollars in assets linked to the leader of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
    The seized items and properties belonged to one of Guzman's most trusted confidants, Pedro Antonio Bermudez Suaza, known by his alias, 'The Architect.' Bermudez Suaza was arrested in Mexico in 2008 and is currently in a New York jail. He reportedly cooperated with U.S. officials who worked with Colombia's Central Directorate of the Judicial Police and Intelligence (DIJIN) and Interpol to make the busts.
    "It involves the confiscation of 58 assets; 38 real estate properties, 15 companies, six luxury vehicles, and the title to a trust. It has to be said that in 2010 during the first phase of the operation the directorate of criminal investigation and Interpol launched an investigation into Pedro Antonio Bermudez Suaza's, alias 'The Architect,' assets. He is a trusted confidant of one of the most wanted drug lords in the world, maybe even the most important drug lord, whose name is El Chapo Guzman, the boss of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel," deputy director of DIJIN, Jose Roberto Leon Riano said.
    Authorities believe Bermudez Suaza amassed his fortune by running flights loaded with cocaine from Colombia to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.
    Police raided his properties in Bogota, Medellin, Cali and a number of smaller cities in the Antioquia department.
    Since 2010 DIJIN has seized 264 assets belonging to the Sinaloa organisation worth an estimated $150 million dollars.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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