The National Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out five simultaneous searches on Saturday, the 5th, at properties in the San Miguel neighborhood of Guarambaré, in the Central Department, targeting an alleged small-scale drug-trafficking and money-laundering structure.
At least 12 people were detained or had their identities checked during the operation. Two were reportedly the main targets, while the others remained under review to determine any possible connection to the organization. Other suspects fled, and teams maintained checkpoints nearby in an effort to locate them.
At two of the residences, officers seized high-purity cocaine, marijuana, firearms, bladed weapons and cash, mainly in small-denomination notes. The investigation also counted more than 7,000 doses of cocaine, including ready-made portions and material that had not yet been divided.
Chief Commissioner Luis López, a police official, said agents also seized property, vehicles and other assets considered linked to the group’s financial activity. The investigation seeks to determine whether proceeds from drug trafficking were invested in movable and immovable property, potentially constituting money laundering.
Security forces suspect that the structure supplied Guarambaré and nearby cities, such as J. Augusto Saldívar and Itá, through small-scale drug sales. They are also investigating whether some of the doses were distributed during the patron-saint festivals held during this period, which attract large crowds.
The operation involved the National Police’s Anti-Narcotics Department and the Special Operations Force (FOPE). Commissioner Luis Rojas, a police official and head of the Department against Organized Crime, said the objective was to locate people linked to small-scale drug trafficking and clarify the group’s financial and operational connections. The Public Prosecutor’s Office was also reported to have participated, but its coordination of the operation was not independently confirmed.
Authorities have not yet released the identities of those detained or said what formal charges will be brought. The investigation is expected to establish the individual responsibility of those involved and the scope of the suspected drug-distribution network in the Central Department.