Defendants were Jose Ch., Ramiro C. and Angel G., who will be dismissed from the police force, as the press reported.

Three lawyers were further arrested in this case, but they were granted unrestricted freedom because in their case the conditions for the possible crime of extortion had not been met.

Regarding the incidents, it was unfolded that at 18:00 Bolivian time on January 12, on Banzer Avenue and the sixth ring of the Santa Cruz capital, the agents of the Transit Unit intercepted a white Lexus van that tried to evade a routine control.

Two young men were inside the vehicle and the officers seized USD$843,000 but hid the facts from their superiors.

24 hours later, the lawyers appeared with a request to identify the trio of policemen, in a document which did not state who hired them.

On January 15, the police officers indicated that they had suffered a series of threats from unidentified persons; therefore, they decided to return the large sum of money.

The money was reportedly handed over by a woman to the police chiefs in a supermarket near the Transit Unit, which led to the officers’ arrest. So far, there is a cloak of silence about the identity of the alleged victim who is the owner of the money.

Deputy Minister of Interior and Police Jhonny Aguilera stated on Wednesday to the press that the high sum of money seized came from drug trafficking or had that final destination, for which the investigations continue.

omr/rgh/jpm