Santo Domingo. - The arrest of Ramon del Rosario Puente (Toño Leña) and Jose Figueroa Agosto, together with the dismantling g their rings, as well as the sorties of  the Super Tucano intercept planes has curtailed the incursions of cocaine laden flights from Venezuela considerably.

Dominican Republic’s law enforcement agencies also credit the shared intelligence, mostly from their Venezuelan and Colombian pars, from where most of the flights originate.

Those factors are viewed as the reason why air surveillance radars have spotted just nine traces in the first 10 months this year, according to the Drugs Control Agency (DNCD), which says the United States Southern Command can vouch for the figures.

Tons of less cocaine

DNCD president Rosado Rolando affirms that from those flights around 3,600 kilos of cocaine would have airdropped, a conservative number compared with the estimates for 2007, 2008 and 2009, based on the 282 radar traces detected in those 36 months. As many as 112,800 kilos may have entered the country during that period. “That reduction has been fruit of the joint effort, of the interagency collaboration, the start of operations of the Tucanos and other actions which we have adopted. The numbers are there and we expect they’ll continue that rate, because our territory continues under a constant threat,” the official said quoted by news source eldia.com.do.

The total kilos of cocaine airdropped in the last three years, is estimated at 116,400, with a street value of more than US$6.9 billion.

The authorities calculate an average of 400 kilos in each incoming drug flight from South America,

Rosado hails the efforts and constant collaboration of the U.S. Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Coastguard Service with the Dominican authorities.