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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [CRIME]

3 clusters · 99 sources · 19 days · First seen · Last updated

Drug interdiction and DNCD agent arrests

Overview

In Baní, Dominican Republic, authorities intercepted two boats carrying a total of 749 packages of suspected cocaine. The operations were conducted by the National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD), the Navy, and the Air Force, with support from the DEA and JIATFS. During the first interception south of Punta Salinas, officials recovered 10 bales containing 281 packages and discovered an exotic monkey on board. Two Dominican nationals, Fauricio López Ferrera and Leonardo Dominici Beltrés, were arrested. A second boat was intercepted in the same maritime area carrying 20 bales and 468 packages, leading to the arrest of Pablo Sebastián Escamarán Ric and José Miguel Pérez Arias. Both vessels reportedly sank during the operations due to heavy sea conditions. The investigation has expanded to include corruption within the DNCD. Two agents, Deny Manuel Sepúlveda de León and Oliver Guevara Rodríguez, were arrested at Miami International Airport following a DEA investigation that began in February 2026. The agents are accused of using their official positions to facilitate drug transit along the Barahona coast, specifically helping drugs from Colombia and Venezuela evade checkpoints. Recent reports indicate the agents may have been lured to Miami under the guise of attending a DEA training course. In a recent maritime operation off the coast of Baní, authorities intercepted a 23-foot ‘Go Fast’ style speedboat several nautical miles south of Punta Salinas. This 12-hour operation, supported by the US Coast Guard, DEA, and the Dutch Coast Guard, resulted in the seizure of 15 bales containing 389 packages of suspected cocaine. Two Dominican men were arrested and face legal proceedings in Peravia province. In a subsequent coordinated maritime, aerial, and terrestrial operation southwest of Isla Beata, the DNCD intercepted a 40-foot Go-Fast vessel near the coast of Pedernales.

Entities

Baní · Dominican Republic · Drug Enforcement Administration · Punta Salinas · Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Coverage disagrees

Sources make claims that cannot both be true. CLSTR reports the disagreement; it does not decide who is right.

Timeline

  1. [CRIME] 12 sources
    Dominican authorities seize 555 cocaine packages in Baní

    Dominican authorities seized 555 cocaine packages from a speedboat in Baní, arresting three men. The operation follows a recent large-scale drug seizure in Pedernales.

  2. [INTERNATIONAL] 25 sources
    Dominican Republic advances maritime drug trafficking protocols and intercepts cocaine

    The Dominican Republic is strengthening regional maritime security through a new intelligence-sharing protocol and has successfully intercepted a narcolancha carrying 389 packages of suspected cocaine.

  3. [CRIME] 71 sources
    Dominican Republic authorities seize 749 cocaine packages in Baní

    Dominican authorities seized 749 packages of suspected cocaine in Baní and arrested four people. Separately, the DEA arrested two DNCD agents in Miami following a sting operation regarding drug trafficking.

Sources

1000noticias.com.py · 2001online.com · acontecerbanilejo.com · ahoradigital.net · ahoranoticiasrd.com · almomento.net · ariadna.elmundo.es · bajotecho.com.do · bonaocity.com.do · calle56.com · conexion23.com · dandoenelclavo.com · davidnoticias.cl · despiertaelsur.com · deultimominuto.net · diaadia.com.pa · diario55.com · diariocorreo.pe · diarioellibertador.com.ar · diariolibre.com · diarionoticias.do · diariouno.pe · directoriocubano.info · dominicanoshoy.com · dominicanrepublicpost.com · dr1.com · ecosdelsur.net.do · elcabledigital.net · eldia.com.do · elfarolatino.com · elfrente.com.co · elinformante.com.do · elmotin.com.do · elnacional.com.do · elnuevodiario.com.do · elocoeno.com · elpregonerord.com · elregional.cl · eluniverso.com · elviajero.com.do · enlalinea.cl · ensegundos.do · fernandoplaceres.com · g5noticias.cl · hatodamasnoticias.com.do · horacerodigital.online · hoy.com.do · impactobarahonero.com.do

This summary has been updated 17 times: see revision history