Former MLB players involved in drug trafficking in the Dominican Republic



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Washington Post News service

Dominican authorities on Tuesday accused two former Major League Baseball players of complicity in drug trafficking, following a government operation targeting a major drug trafficking and money laundering ring.

Officials arrested former MLB thrower Octavio Dotel during coordinated attacks on alleged members of the criminal group, chaired by César Emilio Peralta, reported the Dominican newspaper Diario Libre. Former field player Luis Castillo was also involved in the drug smuggling operation, but it is unclear whether he too was arrested or not.

At a press conference Tuesday, Dominican Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez described the players as leading men for the drug network, according to Diario Libre.

The campaign that preceded the announcement marked "the biggest operation ever organized in the country against organized crime," said a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office. It included research in nightclubs, restaurants, shopping centers and connected apartments in Peralta in the national district, in Santiago and La Romana, reported Diario Libre.

It is unclear exactly what charges Dotel faces. Dotel, who is Dominican, has played for 13 major baseball teams over his 15-year career. He was part of the St. Louis Cardinals team that won the World Series in 2011, as well as the World Baseball Classic in 2013. The pitcher retired in 2013.

Also from the Dominican Republic, Castillo is three times the star player and the Golden Glove. He won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003. He recently played for the New York Mets before retiring in 2010.

Castillo denied the allegations on his Instagram account, according to the Associated Press. "The truth is that my country no longer works, my God, do you think that after winning millions of dollars in baseball, I'm going to get my hands dirty with drugs?", Wrote Castillo.

The message does not appear anymore on his account.

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department also identified Peralta and its criminal network as "major foreign drug traffickers". The department has accused eight Dominican nationals and six Santo Domingo establishments of being involved in the drug trafficking and money laundering network, including several discos owned by Peralta. .

US holdings of appointees will be frozen, and US regulations generally prohibit anyone in the country from dealing with blacklisted individuals and entities.

Dotel and Castillo were not on the list.

"Cesar Emilio Peralta and his criminal organization have used violence and corruption in the Dominican Republic to transport tons of cocaine and opioids to the United States and Europe," Sigal Mandelker, Undersecretary, said in a statement. terrorism and financial intelligence. "The Treasury targets these leading Dominican drug companies, their representatives, and the clubs they used to launder money and traffick women."

According to this release, Peralta would have a "criminal record loaded" and would have coordinated the shipment of tons of cocaine and "significant amounts" of opioids to the United States and Europe. The organization bleaches the product in nightclubs controlled by Peralta or his men, according to the statement.

Tuesday's blast comes two months after MLB star David Ortiz was shot dead in the Dominican Republic in an apparent case of mistaken identity.

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