In an operation coordinated by the Attorney General’s Office, it was possible to dismantle a criminal network that allegedly charged citizens millions of dollars to direct judicial processes, avoiding precautionary measures and the execution of arrest warrants. In the operation, nine people were captured, including officials of the National Police, servants of the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) and individuals linked to the Sijin and the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec).
The criminal network would have operated for several years, with documented events in 2014, 2015, 2024 and 2025, and focused on the manipulation of money laundering processes. According to the investigations, those involved demanded sums between 400 and 1,000 million pesos from a citizen who served a sentence in the United States and his family members, in order to prevent judicial actions against him, such as measures to forfeit ownership of his assets or the execution of arrest warrants.
Among those captured are:
• National Police: Captain Nelson Pinzón, Deputy Superintendents Carlos Mendieta and Leonardo Padilla, and Patrolman Michael Laguado.
• CTI: Jimmy Rodríguez and Luis Villalba.
• Former Police and Inpec officials: Luis Riveros and Rosember Gil.
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The investigations reveal that the alleged perpetrators used their positions to pressure those affected, showing confidential information about the judicial processes and restricting witnesses from providing false information when the victims did not agree to pay the requested amounts. They even intimidated one of the leading investigators to obtain details about the causes that interested them and eliminated evidence to alter the course of the investigations.
The capture operations were carried out in Bogotá, Chiquinquirá (Boyacá), Pereira (Risaralda) and Granada (Meta), under the coordination of the Special Task Group created by the Prosecutor’s Office to address these cases of corruption.
According to the authorities, those involved will be charged with multiple crimes, including: conspiracy to commit a crime, concussion, ideological falsification in a public document, procedural fraud, influence peddling, abusive access to a computer system, threats to a public servant and abuse of authority by arbitrary act.
The Prosecutor’s Office highlighted that these types of investigations are essential to guarantee transparency and legality in judicial processes, as well as to protect citizens against possible abuses by officials who hold positions of trust in public institutions.