TLDR
- Colombian authorities arrested eight people accused of laundering drug cartel money with cryptocurrency, working with U.S. intelligence agencies.
- Raids took place in four locations: Cajicá, Maicao, Barranquilla, and Bogotá.
- A Puerto Rico federal court accuses a group led by “Gallo” of using crypto tokens and smurfing to hide drug funds.
- Nassim Orfale Vasquez, indicted in New York, allegedly processed over $42 million in suspicious crypto transactions since 2018.
- All suspects face extradition procedures to the United States under Colombian law.
Colombian authorities have arrested eight people accused of helping drug cartels launder money through cryptocurrency. The arrests were carried out in coordination with U.S. intelligence agencies.
The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia announced the detentions on Wednesday. Officials said the suspects are linked to schemes that moved drug trafficking profits using digital assets.
Raids Across Four Colombian Cities
The operation involved CTI Police officials and the national army. Teams were sent to four locations: Cajicá, Maicao, Barranquilla, and Bogotá.
In one coordinated action, police captured Guillermo Carpio Cárdenas, known as “Gallo.” Authorities say he led the first group targeted in the operation.
Six other people were arrested with him. They are Alex Alberto Castillo Gómez, Jhon Jairo Torres Peláez, Nizar Hachem Sawan, Andrés Mauricio Guarnizo Vaca, Danilo Andrés Hernández Junco, and Juan Daniel Arenas Uribe, also known as Juan Arenas.
The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has made allegations against this group. The court says the ring set up a scheme to move drug money and hide where it came from.
According to the court, the group used a deposit network and cryptocurrency tokens. It also used a method called smurfing.
Smurfing means breaking money into many small transactions. The goal is to avoid being flagged by financial intelligence units.
$42 Million Case Tied to New York Court
In a separate action, police arrested Nassim Orfale Vasquez in Barranquilla. He has been indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Prosecutors say Vasquez took part in a network that used crypto transactions to launder drug trafficking funds. His case is separate from the Puerto Rico group.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, Vasquez processed more than $42 million in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions since 2018.
Authorities are also investigating whether a larger organization is running similar operations from the Colombian coast. That investigation is ongoing.
The arrests follow an earlier case involving a stablecoin laundering network. That network was led by Leonardo de Jesus Zuluaga Duque, a Colombian citizen known as “Rey.”
Zuluaga Duque was sentenced to 160 months in a U.S. federal prison. That is just over 13 years.
Colombian President Abelardo de La Espriella has made criminal extraditions to the United States a priority. His government has focused on drug trafficking groups.
He has faced criticism for his hard-line approach toward drug criminals. Even so, he ranks as the third most popular leader in Latin America, behind Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele.
The Attorney General’s office said all of those arrested will now go through extradition procedures under Colombian law. Officials said the process will respect due process as the suspects prepare to face charges in U.S. courts.
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