Prosecutor specialized in drug-related crimes, Joseph Díaz, requested precautionary measures for members of a criminal gang associated with Clan del Golfo, a Colombian cartel operating in Panama, arrested on December 1 as part of Operation Fisher.

Likewise, the official demanded the suspension of four members of the security forces involved, who provided information on the area they were monitoring, Colón’s coasts.

He also requested the removal of a captain from the National Air Naval Service (Senan), who allegedly received money from a citizen (under an extradition order to the United States), in exchange for information.

Díaz specified at the hearing that there are still more people to apprehend and that releasing those arrested may put the evidence at risk.

To support his requests, he narrated events and resorted to textual reading of telephone transcripts obtained during the investigation, which began on February 6, 2020, and described the origin of a powerful Colombian cartel and its strings in Panama, a strategic area for transfers, especially in the Atlantic.

According to authorities, the Clan del Golfo was responsible for all drugs that crossed the Caribbean off panama’s coasts, where 40 percent of seizures in the country have occurred so far this year.

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