Dominican Republic escalates drug war with airborne radar

Santo Domingo.- National Drug Control Agency president Rolando Rosado on Tuesday announced that Dominican Republic will operate a radar plane to detect drug-laden boats in one month.

He said in the next few days a maritime radar will be installed in a Falcon 50 plane seized by the DNCD in Punta Cana, where several senior officers were arrested and 700 kilos of cocaine seized. "With this aircraft we’re going erect a barrier in front of the island and that plane will be looking for drug speedboats morning, noon and night."

He said it’s technology that in Central and South America only Venezuela and Honduras have. "The Falcon aircraft was seized in the last case at Punta Cana, has a cost of 10 million dollars, and the country can not afford to buy that plane, so for that reason we borrowed it from drug traffickers."

Confiscation

In another development, the DCND seized 39 packages of cocaine and apprehended three individuals, including a Russian-born Canadian citizen.

Eduardo Feliciano Salas, Yoelki Antonio Tejeda and Arkadi Poliakeviich were charged with forming part of a drug trafficking ring based in Punta Cana and Bavaro, where they allegedly received drug shipments from South America.