This group used the Dominican-Haitian border as the center of its illegal actions, specifically the province of Independencia, municipality of Jimaní, and was disbanded in March 2022 thanks to joint efforts with the General Directorate of Migration and the Special Department for Transnational Crime.
Judge Ernesto A. Cabral of the Court of Inquiry for the Judicial District of the Independencia Province accepted the Public Ministry’s request.
The judge also upheld the coercive measures, which consisted of preventive detention, with the exception of Deivy Nova, who was required to provide an economic guarantee of 10,000 Dominican pesos (about $200) without the right to leave the country.
Nova also has to go to the special prosecutor’s office against migrant smuggling and human trafficking every week.
In March 2022, Roberto Méndez, control coordinator at the customs border post in Jimaní, and the inspector of this unit, Johan Rosario, were arrested.
Also Quelinton Eduardo Vólquez, Delson Manuel Medina, Juan Mateo Feliciano and Nova, the latter an employee of the National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewerage, and Dominga Guzmán, mother of one of the accused, who made his house available to him.
The Iguana operation ended with nine simultaneous raids in Independencia, Jimaní; Bahoruco, Neiba and in the province of Pedernales.
According to reports, seven vehicles and about 127 foreign nationals’ passports, hundreds of thousands of Dominican pesos and $383 were seized.
According to the State Ministry at the time, hundreds of documents and a firearm were also confiscated during the campaign.
mem/mpv