The Public Ministry of Ecuador, together with the National Police, carried out an operation in which 12 people were arrested for allegedly being involved in organized crime, the judicial body reported this Monday morning (4).
During the procedure, raids were carried out on more than ten properties in the province of Guayas and among those detained were a former deputy and a former employee of the Guayas Provincial Court of Justice.
In addition, several judges from the Court of Justice of Guayas and administrative employees from the management of the Judicial Council of the same province were arrested.
A CNN tries to contact the detainees' defenses.
During the operations, it was reported that authorities found various pieces of evidence, such as documents, electronic equipment, jewelry, firearms, cell phones, money, alcoholic beverages, among other items.
The Public Prosecutor's Office said it would file charges against the detainees this Monday.
“Cleansing” of Ecuadorian institutions
The operation was called “Purge” by the Public Ministry and, according to the Attorney General of the Republic of Ecuador, Diana Salazar, it is derived from the Metástase case.
This other case broke out in December last year, after a mega operation in different cities against corruption and drug trafficking, and in which an alleged structure of corruption in different State institutions was investigated.
Prosecutor Diana Salazar reported, in a video published on
“We have elements that show the need to clean up the judicial system to get rid of corruption and the deep structural decomposition that we have seen in recent months”, highlighted Salazar.
The prosecutor reiterated that Justice cannot be a space for drug trafficking and corruption, and guarantees that in cases like this, criminal, political and judicial forces that seek impunity are fought.
“The Expurgo case is a demonstration of how corruption was generated from the highest levels of legislative politics, which it placed at its service and, obviously, that of drug trafficking – the administration of Justice in one of the most influential provinces in the country , Guayas”, he added.
“Criminal economies have found a very profitable operational means for impunity to flourish,” he concluded.
Source: CNN Brasil
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