MP seizes assets exceeding RD$80 million during the closure of Operation Búfalo NK, initiated in 2024

Santo Domingo.- The Public Ministry reported this Monday on the seizure of millions of dollars worth of assets linked to Isidoro Rotestan Clase and his front men, within the framework of the closure of investigations against the international drug trafficking network dismantled with Operation Buffalo NK, deployed in September 2024. According to the prosecuting body, during the latest procedures, 6 buses valued at approximately 24 million 450 thousand pesos, 4 vessels used for drug transportation, and 7 properties with an estimated value of 60 million pesos were confiscated. These seizures are in addition to those previously carried out, which include a farm in Puerto Plata, luxury vehicles, cash, a beverage center and a car wash, as well as a penthouse in Bella Vista and another apartment in the National District, all belonging to Rotestan Clase or acquired in the name of third parties. The judicial process derived from Operation Buffalo NK has resulted in nine convictions against members of the criminal structure. Among those sentenced are José Antonio Toribio, Juan Bolívar Hernández, Robert Nicolás Acosta Adames, Severiano Núñez Pichardo and Maritza Flete Santana, who accepted their criminal responsibility. The defendants were found guilty of violating various articles of Law 50-88 on Drugs and Controlled Substances, the Dominican Penal Code, and Law 631-16 on the Control and Regulation of Weapons, Ammunition and Related Materials. The crimes include international drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal association.

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The Buffalo NK Operation was developed by the Public Ministry in conjunction with the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), the Ministry of Defense, various national and international intelligence agencies, the DEA, and the United States Southern Command. The investigation revealed that the criminal network operated on a large scale between Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Europe, using vessels to transport drugs with the aim of obtaining millions in illicit profits. In the operation, 17 prosecutors participated, and simultaneous actions were carried out in Puerto Plata, Nagua, San Pedro, Hato Mayor, La Romana, and the National District, thus managing to dismantle one of the most active and dangerous drug trafficking structures in the Caribbean.