Santiago, Chile – Authorities have carried out raids in eight communes across three regions – Metropolitan, Maule, and Valparaíso – targeting a criminal network allegedly involved in the theft of cargo and operation of clandestine casinos. The Public Ministry confirmed 15 arrests, including the leader and financier of the group, with detainees scheduled to appear in San bernardo Guarantee Court on Saturday.
The organization is accused of intercepting cargo trucks, transferring stolen goods to collection points controlled by network members, and then distributing the merchandise through front companies operating within formal trade. Investigations also revealed the use of signal inhibitors and clandestine casinos to launder money generated from the illicit sales.
raids took place in La Pintana, Alto Maipo, and other locations. Presidential Delegate of the Metropolitan Region, Gonzalo Durán, emphasized the ongoing nature of the operation and a continued focus on dismantling clandestine casinos and associated money laundering activities. “Here it is not a person who is installed with a little machine. There are distribution chains of these machines… and, in that sense, obviously there is an organization dedicated to this, and that organization is what must be fought,” Durán stated.
La Pintana Mayor Claudia pizarro described the operation as targeting a “network, it is a mafia, and I think that the mafias must be fought.” The raids within La Pintana occurred in the Puerto Alegre and Baldomero Lillo sectors.