AK-47 Rifles, Pistols, Cocaine, False Bottom Cars, Digital Wallets, Yappy, Backpackers, the Darién and a Boutique to Launder Money – Operation Jericho

Operation Jericho gained relevance because one of those investigated for the alleged money laundering commission is Abraham Rico Pineda, son of PRD deputy Raúl Pineda.  Rico Pineda is in a cell in La Nueva Joya prison, while the case is investigated. The noose is tightening and drug prosecutor Joseph Díaz has asked the magistrates of the Superior Court of Appeals to toughen the precautionary measures for four defendants accused of conspiracy to carry out drug-related activities, arrested in Operation Jericho during a hearing held Monday September 2.   Díaz asked 3 magistrates Greta Marchosky, Yiles Pittí and Yanelka Quijano to revoke the precautionary measures granted to Ismael Martínez , Kerime Andrea Zúñiga, Militza Rodríguez and Neryethe Jaén Chérigo, and to provisionally detain them.  Currently, some of them are under house arrest or periodically have to check in with the authorities.  According to the prosecution, all of them actively participated in the drug trafficking network dismantled in Jericho.  Thus, elements that link them to the investigation were exposed.  

The prosecutor highlighted links with drug seizures, plans to hide drugs in cars with false bottoms, the use of a digital wallet to pay backpackers who transported them, and a boutique to launder money.  Regarding the case of Ismael Martínez, who is under house arrest, the prosecutor argued that there are “serious indications” linking him to the seizure of 600 kilos of cocaine, two AK-47 rifles and a pistol, seized during a police operation on the Juan Díaz River in August 2023.  He is also linked to the seizure of 158 packages of cocaine on February 26, 2024 in San Miguelito, a case in which José Mackenzie, another of the defendants, is also linked.  However, Abdiel Sánchez, Martínez’s lawyer, refuted these accusations. He argued that his client was not arrested during these operations and that it was not until several months later that attempts were made to link him to these events.  He also claimed that at the time of his client’s arrest, no drugs or money were seized from him and that he also has no criminal record.

The prosecution also requested the revocation of the periodic notification measure granted to Kerime Andrea Zúñiga, due to her connection with Francisco Serrano, one of the alleged leaders of the criminal network. They, according to the prosecution, had planned to hide drugs in a mechanic’s workshop in San Miguelito, where they prepared cars with false bottoms for the transport of the illicit substance.  These accusations were refuted by his lawyer, Genaro Lopez, who argued that the precautionary measure applied to his client was fair, since it could not be proven that he maintained an active participation in the alleged criminal network investigated by the prosecution.  In turn, prosecutor Díaz also requested to revoke the precautionary measure of periodic notification applied to Militza Rodríguez, who is attributed a direct link with Edwin Martínez. The prosecution stated that Rodríguez had full knowledge of the activities carried out by Martínez and that she provided her Yappy account to send small sums of money that were used to pay the people who moved the drugs in the area of ​​Tortí, Chepo, and the backpackers who brought the drugs through the mountains of Darién.  However, Rodriguez’s lawyer, Mariela Melgar, argued that her client works at the Ministry of Health, is a person with no criminal record, and that the prosecution could not prove involvement in drug trafficking conspiracy activities.

Prosecutor Díaz also requested the revocation of the precautionary measure of periodic notification applied to Naryethe Jaén Chérigo, who is linked to the arrest of a car with a false bottom in the Tocumen area.  In addition, he attributed to her maintaining links with Juan Chérigo, alias “Coya”, one of the alleged leaders of the criminal network.  Díaz explained that Jaén moved part of the illicit money through the Bizcochito Fashion boutique.  However, her lawyer, Alfonso Montoya, refuted these accusations and pointed out that his client was not mentioned in any drug seizure.  He added that the precautionary measure applied by the judge of guarantees to his client shows that she had no participation in any illicit activity.  In the afternoon, the defense attorneys presented motions to the magistrates of the Superior Court of Appeals for the change of precautionary measures for the rest of the 21 defendants who remain detained, who were able to follow the hearing via video.  The hearing will resume at 8:30 am this Tuesday. It will then be known if the magistrates accept the prosecutor’s request or maintain the precautionary measures for these four people.