12940: Police arrest Dominican vice consul to Haiti after finding cocaine in his car (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Stanley  Lucas <slucas@iri.org>

AP
Police arrest Dominican vice consul to Haiti after finding cocaine in his car; four others arrested
Wed Aug 28, 4:15 PM ET

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Police arrested five people, including the Dominican vice consul to Haiti, after officers found a large quantity of cocaine in his car Wednesday.



Following a five-month investigation, police detained Ormis Freddy Pena, his chauffeur and another three people in a poor section of this Caribbean country's capital, Santo Domingo.

Police, conducting surveillance, said they saw Freddy Pena distributing drugs to dealers. Officers said when they searched his car they found 43 kilograms (94.6 pounds) of cocaine.

Haiti has become a major transshipment point for cocaine.

Police turned the five over to judicial authorities, said National Drug Control Directorate spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete.

Authorities also confiscated automatic weapons and cell phones.

It was unclear when Freddy Pena had left Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

(ac-fg/pd)