Dominican Republic courts hand 10‑year sentences to drug traffickers as authorities destroy nearly 20 million illegal ​‑

A court in La Romana sentenced five members of a drug‑trafficking and money‑laundering network to ten years in prison and imposed fines of up to 50 minimum wages. The judgment also ordered the seizure of luxury vehicles, two properties and other assets valued at more than RD$10 million, which prosecutors said were bought with proceeds from cocaine, marijuana, crack, molly and ecstasy.

Separately, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MIPYMES led an operation that incinerated 19,958,898 units of contraband—including cigarettes, premium alcoholic drinks, falsified medicines and sexual stimulants—worth roughly RD$394 million. The effort involved customs, the armed forces, health regulators and consumer groups and was presented as a blow to criminal groups that traffic illicit goods and a safeguard for public health and the formal economy.