Five people were arrested on charges of belonging to an organization dedicated to drug trafficking in the Buenos Aires locality of Monte Grande and the Villa 1-11-14 shantytown, while three drug dens were shut down. Sources from the Buenos Aires Public Prosecutor's Office informed the Noticias Argentinas news agency that the arrests included a 31-year-old man, accused of double aggravated robbery with a firearm, and a 31-year-old woman in the district of Esteban Echeverría. Meanwhile, in the emergency settlement, two Peruvian nationals and a 26-year-old Argentine citizen were apprehended. Doses of cocaine were also seized. Officers from the City Police's Southern Anti-Drugs Division conducted raids in the Barrio Padre Ricciardelli, where they confiscated over 27,000 doses of cocaine paste, including wraps and 'paco bombs', valued at 55,000,000 pesos. The officials also seized a Dodge Journey SUV, six firearms—three of them with obliterated serial numbers—, seven magazines, 699 cartridges of different calibers, seven spent casings, and nine mobile phones. The investigation, initiated in January of this year following complaints from residents, was carried out by the N°12 Investigative Unit with the intervention of the Specialized Fiscal Unit for Investigations Linked to Drug-Related Crimes (UFEIDE). The procedures were ordered by the Court of First Instance in Criminal, Contravention, and Misdemeanor Law N°22. Likewise, pressed marijuana bricks, wraps, cash, a bill counter, precision scales, and cutting and packaging materials were found. The presiding judge ordered pretrial detention for three of the five individuals involved.
