2024-03-01 19:47:22
Among those prosecuted are five active uniformed officers, nine retired and one civilian, who would have participated in the alleged irregular management of military notebooks.
The Attorney General’s Office has brought to justice 15 people allegedly involved in a criminal network accused of fraudulently processing and obtaining military passbooks in Colombia.
These illegal actions would have been carried out by altering the missionary systems of the National Army and demanding sums of money in exchange for the definition of military status for men between 18 and 50 years old.
According to investigations, this criminal structure would have operated between 2016 and 2022, placing men in the vicinity of educational institutions to offer them an illicit solution to their military situation.
The modus operandi of the network consisted of include those interested in WhatsApp groups, where they were told what documents they should obtain and a sum of money that ranged between 900,000 and 5,000,000 Colombian pesos. Once the payment was received, those involved accessed the National Army’s ‘Fenix’ missionary system to insert false or altered information and manage the issuance of military notebooks fraudulently.
The joint action of the DIJIN Police Cyber Center of the National Police in Bogotá and the Criminal Investigation Sections in several cities in the country allowed the capture of the alleged perpetrators. Among those detained are a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, a lieutenant, a first vice sergeant, a third corporal, nine retired officers and non-commissioned officers of the National Army, as well as a civilian who would have served as a high school soldier.
You may be interested in: Military Criminal Justice investigates police officers for the death of soldier Alexander Orozco regulates
The evidentiary material collected has also made it possible to impose precautionary measures on 51 assets, including rural and urban properties, vehicles, companies and commercial establishments, which would have been acquired with money resulting from these illegal activities. The preliminary value of these assets exceeds 15,549 million Colombian pesos.
The people involved face charges of aggravated criminal conspiracy, aggravated abusive access to a computer system, aggravated computer damage and material falsification in a public document. In addition, one of the defendants is charged with the crime of manufacturing, trafficking or carrying firearms or ammunition.
The charges were not accepted by the defendants. By order of the guarantee control judge, Lieutenant Colonel Borrero Chavarro, Deputy First Sergeant Meza Porras, Colonel (r) Coronado Camero and First Sergeant (r) Otálora Velandia will comply with a security measure in the prison center; while Third Corporal Otálora Salgado, Major (r) Molano Rojas, professional soldiers (r) Colorado Jaramillo, Amaya Nope, Chavarro Martin and civilian Tabares Jaramillo will remain deprived of liberty in their place of residence. The other defendants will continue to be involved in the investigation.
You can read: Man who threatened journalist Luis Carlos Vélez apologized