A staggering number of drug traffickers have been reported in the city by the PDI

The small city of La Calera, about 41 miles from Valparaiso, has become a center for drug trafficking and dealing,  report Chile’s investigative police (PDI).

The situation has become so bad in La Calera, the PDI says, they have been forced to create an Antinarcotics Brigade specifically for the city to help control drug crimes.  Since the brigade’s creation last year,  267 drug traffickers have been arrested.

 

Neighbors say there are afraid to walk their city’s because of gangs and drug traffickers. a. Abraham Morales, president of the neighborhood council, said, “We warned authorities in December about the presence of gangs and drug dealers in that sector.”

The Antinarcotics Brigade says La Calera receives drug shipments from Peru and Argentina and then distributes the drugs to the rest of the central regions.

A major problem in dealing with drug dealers, and especially kingpins, is that they work in the poorer sectors of the city and pay people to remain silent about their presence.  operations remain secret since the people are paid for their silence.

Police name drug dealer Pedro Melo Cartagena as an example, saying he gives money to local residents and funds firework displays when a drug shipment is successful.

Despite the large number of drug dealers, crime rates in La Calera have gone down and surveys show that most citizens are less fearful about crime than they were in 2008. 

President of Chile Sebastian Pinera recently began several new programs aimed at reigning in drug dealers and the problems they create.  His government is funding  more rehabilitation centers for those who use drugs.

SOURCE: EL MERCURIO
By Sebastian Leon ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )