Ecuadorian Prosecutor Imposes Preventive Prison Sentence on 17 Criminals in the Plaga Case

Ecuadorian Police During a investigation of the case Plaga, June 30,2024 Photo: @DiarioExtraEc

June 30, 2024 Hour: 8:16 pm

Fourteen defendants were remanded in custody, two were placed under house arrest and another was prohibited from leaving the country.

The Ecuadorian Attorney General’s Office reported on Sunday that 17 people, including provincial judges, officials and lawyers, involved in organized crime, were arrested through favouritism against criminals through judicial decisions.

The defendants were detained in different operations, which were carried out in several provinces of the nation. Among those involved, there are judges from the judicial units in the cities of Santo Domingo, Huaquillas and Milagro.

“Judge of the National Court receives request from prosecutor Diana Salazar and orders preventive detention for 14 defendants; while for another 2, house arrest and use of electronic device for being older adults,” reported on social network X the Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office.

The legislative body also specified that, «for an accused, due to her state of pregnancy, she issued a ban on leaving the country and periodic presentation. In addition, it provided for the retention of accounts of all associates for $1 million, divided proportionally by each of the associates”.

#URGENTE | #CasoPlaga: Juez de la Corte Nacional acoge pedido de la fiscal @DianaSalazarM2 y dicta prisión preventiva para 14 procesados; mientras que para otros 2, arresto domiciliario y uso de dispositivo electrónico por ser adultos mayores. pic.twitter.com/45zCmd1EYm
— Fiscalía Ecuador (@FiscaliaEcuador) June 30, 2024

Authorities called the Plaga case, which prosecuted a corruption ring that negotiated the sale of favorable sentences, release slips and other legal actions primarily for members of organized crime groups.

Prosecutor Diana Salazar says that the leader of the organization is a lawyer who is at large and is also investigated in another case involving a drug kingpin murdered in 2022, Leandro Norero.

Meanwhile, at the hearing, the Prosecutor’s Office showed that a judge from Santo Domingo, whom it identified as Jorge Eduardo A., granted the freedom to a collaborator of the leader of the Lobos, Fabricio Colón Pico, for the payment of 70,000 dollars.