Colombian Police Officers Detained Over Illegal Surveillance Scandal

Colombian Police Officers Detained Over Illegal Surveillance Scandal

Charges Leveled Against Police Officers

Three members of the Colombian police force have been ordered into detention in connection with the illegal interception of Marelbys Meza, the former nanny of ex-chief of staff of the Casa de Nariño, Laura Sarabia. The implicated officers, Jhon Freddy Morales, Carlos Andrés Loaiza Correa, and Alfonso Quinchanegua, face charges of ideological falsehood, procedural fraud, and the illegal violation of communications. Conversely, Officer Dana Alejandra Canizales Bonilla was granted a non-custodial measure, avoiding detention.

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Origination of the Investigation

The investigation was triggered by a complaint lodged by Sarabia in January about the loss of a suitcase containing money. The ex-chief of staff does not feature in this line of investigation related to the illegal surveillance of her former nanny. The police officers’ lawyers have appealed the decision and have requested for a special detention site to be determined.

Unfolding of the Surveillance Plot

The judge shared in the hearing that Lieutenant Quinchanegua engaged several officers for urgent actions following the theft complaint. Subsequently, Quinchanegua and Canizales Bonilla submitted a reportedly tampered judicial police report to the Prosecutor’s Office, requesting the interception of the ex-nanny. However, a patrolman named Cabana denied a part of that report in a statement made in July.

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Later on, Fredy Alexander Gómez and Rafael Ricardo Santos, who had already been charged and secured last week, entered the scene. It was revealed that Santos Fuentes, who had served as an informal source for the national police for five years, allegedly lied about meeting with the officer to disclose information about a man known as alias Pini, intending to exchange dollars.

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Illegal Intrusion and Falsification

Through irregular maneuvers, the ex-nanny’s phone was illegally intercepted, and she was falsely portrayed as a person close to the ‘Gulf Clan’, a terrorist group, to justify this surveillance. The four former officials stand accused of providing incorrect information to prosecutors, which was later presented to judges to legalize the orders. These illegal actions were reportedly aimed at establishing the possible involvement of the ex-nanny, another former worker of Ms. Sarabia Torres, and two people close to the ex-nanny, in the disappearance of a suitcase with dollars and other valuable items.