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As a Homeric epic fueled with cocaine, Colombia's long tragic battle against drug cartels has produced countless heroes and villains. But a figure that crosses the current battlefield of the country's narco, a name that attracts attention and hate, is actually a six-year-old German Shepard that can be found at the country's airports
Sombra – "Shadow" in English a drug detection dog with the Colombian National Police. In recent years, his radar nose has led to more than 200 arrests and the seizure of at least 9 tons of illicit drugs. This success has turned the dog into something of a folk hero in a country consumed by the ongoing bloodshed accumulated on top of a long legacy of drug abuse. The Colombian press even described Sombra as "terror" of drug traffickers
. But Sombra is so good at his job that the dominant drug team in Colombia is fighting back. They put a price on the dog's head.
According to Colombian radio RCN, the police intelligence service recently learned the Urabeños bonus, also known as the "Gulf clan". dog, between 20 and 200 million Colombian pesos – about 7,000 and 70,000 US dollars. But the threat is serious enough for the national police to take extra precautions for the security of Sombra.
"The fact that they want to hurt Sombra and offer such a reward for his capture or death shows the impact that she has had on their profits," a police spokesman said. told the Telegraph
Sombra came to the Colombian police from a kennel in Antioquia, the region of the country that is home to Medellín, the stepping stone to the fearsome cartels of Colombia from the 1980s and 1990s. Equipped with a fluo yellow vest, the bitch is responsible for propelling her muzzle erected in luggage and parcels in Colombian ports and airports on the Gulf Coast of Mexico
RCN Radio reports that its first major bust took place in March 2016 his way to a container of banana boxes that secretly contained 2,958 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride. The expedition was en route to Belgium
In May 2017, Sombra discovered another shipment to Belgium containing 1.1 tons of cocaine. Last June, she led the police to an even bigger discovery – 5.3 tons of cocaine, the BBC reported. Later, she discovered another 4 tons secreted in a shipment of auto parts.
In total, his busts resulted in 245 arrests, said Colonel Carlos Fernando Villareal at RCN Radio. Sombra's law enforcement efforts have earned him twice the Wilson Quintero Medal, an honor awarded for critical contributions to the fight against drug trafficking.
Sombra's achievements gave him the cuddly face of Colombia's anti-drug effort. presented on local television. In airports, the dog is asked to pose for selfies with admirers. And the narcotics police regularly publish on Twitter his achievements. This month, the police used Sombra to specifically call the so-called well-known Urabeños chief, a former paramilitary guerrilla turned drug trafficker, Dairo Antonio Úsuga. In Colombia, it is known as "Otoniel".
"[I] In the past three years she has become Otoniel's ordeal," recently declared a tweet
. "Sombra is a very friendly and calm canine, and for this reason, she has no problem approaching children or people who want to say hello to her," Oscar Favian Solarte, head of the anti-narcotics division, said El Tiempo. "She is cheerful, and in fact it is part of the development of her work, not only to look for illegal drug stamps, but also, once her work is done, to de-stress, so to speak."
But all of this attention placed Sombra in the sights of the Urabeños.
Originally a paramilitary outfit, one of the many armed groups to negotiate bullets in Colombia's long national struggle, the Urabeños are now the largest criminal organization in the country and control a large part of the drug trafficking, according to InSight Crime. To consolidate the power by attacking all the rivals, the base of the group extends on the north-west coast of Colombia. According to InSight, the group derives money from various criminal activities, such as extortion, illegal exploitation and smuggling.
Otoniel remains at liberty and controls the vast organization
In response to generosity on the life of Sombra, General Jorge Nieto, head of the National Police, ordered that the dog be transferred to the airport International El Dorado de Bogotá, outside the territory of the Urabeños, on the coast. According to the Telegraph, other officers will now accompany Sombra in his rounds.
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Samantha Schmidt of the Washington Post contributed to this report.
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