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Colombia seizes drug lord Madman Barrera’s properties

Daniel Barrera owned luxury villas in the cities of Villavicencio, Melgar and the outskirts of Bogota

Police in Colombia have seized almost 300 properties belonging to one of the country’s most notorious drug lords, Daniel Barrera – known as The Madman.

Daniel Barrera owned luxury villas in the cities of Villavicencio, Melgar and the outskirts of Bogota

Among them are luxury villas, cattle ranches, restaurants and bars in the capital, Bogota, and eastern Colombia.

Police also detained four of his relatives on suspicion of money laundering.

Barrera was arrested last year in neighbouring Venezuela while he was making a call in a public phone booth.

Counter-narcotics officers said they had occupied the properties during a four-day joint operation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

The operation followed three years of investigative work in which the officers identified commercial and private properties and goods belonging to Barrera, his immediate family, and his middlemen.

The largest property was a 2,600-hectare (26sq km) ranch in a rural part of eastern Meta province. Police also seized luxury apartments, more than 150 farms used for pasture, and 15 lorries and armoured cars.

Officers estimated the combined value of the properties at almost $28m.

 

Read full article on BBC

 

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