FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2004 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice today presented the government of Colombia with a $13.3 million check representing the sharing of assets forfeited from a Colombian drug kingpin. The money turned over today will be used to benefit critical law enforcement programs in Colombia, including aid to anti-drug operations, prosecutions, the purchase of new equipment and construction projects.
The check was presented to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe this afternoon by Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lee Warren of the Criminal Division, at a ceremony at the Colombian Ambassadors Residence in Washington, D.C. The check represents assets forfeited from deceased drug kingpin Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha. Gacha was indicted on heroin trafficking charges in the Southern District of New York in 1989. However, Gacha was killed before authorities were able to arrest and extradite him to the United States.
Kingpins, like Rodriguez Gacha, prey upon our citizens by peddling illegal drugs that wreck devastation on our communities. Using the ill-gotten gains of drug traffickers to make our criminal justice systems more effective provides a satisfying irony, said Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum, who presented the check to President Uribe In 1998, the United States and Colombian governments agreed to share assets seized during the Gacha investigation. The agreement calls for the money to be devoted to enhancing law enforcement efforts such as the purchase of new computers and surveillance equipment, construction of new courtrooms, and the modernization of law enforcement training grounds.
The Department of Justice, Criminal Division, through the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, maintains an active program of international sharing of forfeited assets with countries whose law enforcement has assisted in the investigation /litigation leading to the forfeiture. 04-180
Source: US Department of Justice
