Bogotá. Colombian authorities reported the dismantling of an alleged organization dedicated to international drug trafficking that, according to investigations, recruited young women in vulnerable situations to transport cocaine and marijuana to several countries, including the Dominican Republic.
The operation was developed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, the Anti-Narcotics Directorate of the National Police of Colombia, and the United States Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), following an investigation that determined that the network had allegedly operated between 2022 and June 2026.
According to the authorities, the narcotics were hidden in the women’s bodies before being sent to destinations such as Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
As a result of the investigation, a judge imposed preventive detention on ten people accused of being part of the criminal structure, which had the city of Medellín and the island of San Andrés as its main centers of operation.
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Among the main individuals under investigation is Carlos Gary Ruiz Taborda, known by the alias “El Mago”, whom authorities identify as the alleged leader of the organization. Also linked was Humberto Gallardo Hudgson, alias “El Negro”, accused of coordinating the acquisition of the drugs and the logistics for their transport from San Andrés.
The Prosecutor’s Office also accuses Margarita María Tamayo Valencia, alias “Márgara”, of recruiting the women who were subsequently used as human couriers to transport the narcotics. Other members of the network, according to the investigations, were dedicated to distributing small quantities of drugs within penitentiary centers.
Colombian authorities indicated that, as part of the actions to combat this type of drug trafficking, security controls were reinforced at the José María Córdova International Airport in Rionegro through the use of scanners, risk profiling, undercover agents, and specialized canine units.
