At dawn, the corridors of the Ricciardelli neighborhood were filled with members of the city police’s Southern Narcotics Task Force heading to the six homes identified in the investigation. At one of the locations, on 10th Avenue, investigators found one of the suspects moving around surrounded by wrapping paper, scales, and wads of money. Elsewhere, the scene was repeated with variations. This is how the Villalba family perished.an organization that controlled the drug trade in an area of the 1-11-14 district of Flores after the dissolution of the Marola family.
In a series of six raids ordered by the Attorney General Six members, including the 38-year-old leader, were arrested. Sellable drugs, cash, cellphones, ammunition and separate items were seized.
The procedure was carried out by the city police’s South District Narcotics Enforcement Investigation Division. According to the seized materials and researchers’ calculations, The estimated value of those substances was more than $16 million, which is the equivalent of approximately 2,000 doses of cocaine and base paste.. Images from the operation show the deployment of the device and the kidnapping. In addition to the materials used to sort them, dozens of black wrapping papers were laid out, containing various pieces of bread and drugs, digital scales, telephones and wads of banknotes.
The case had been investigated since June by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Investigation of Drug-related Crimes (Ufeide), headed by Prosecutor Cecilia Amil Martín. Within this framework, with the progress of field missions carried out by counter-narcotics personnel, Prosecutors have requested six raids in the Ricciardelli and Iria districts. The 8th Criminal, Misdemeanor, and Misdemeanor Court, chaired by Judge Natalia Molina, ordered the break-in.
The arrested group operated in the so-called 10th Avenue, in a high-rise building in the Ricciardelli district. One of the sectors of 1-11-14. According to the investigation, the Villalba family took over the street vendor after the fall of the Marola family, who imposed violence and intimidation on neighbors in order to turn the house into a bunker. The band is made up of a married couple and their five children. In May 2023, it was dismantled after extensive procedures, and its members were detained.. Lacking the network belligerence that characterized its predecessors, the new group strengthened its presence in the same areas until recent judicial and police intervention.
A search warrant was also executed at the same time. During one of the operations, the military broke into a warehouse on 10th Avenue that also served as a sales base and arrested one man. Two men and four women, including the ringleader, fell.. The remaining steps were distributed across different addresses in Ricciardelli and Iria to ensure storage, preparation and sales space.
The main items seized included approximately 900 grams of cocaine (some bearing Delfin stickers referring to Delfin Castedo, Guardian of the North), 250 grams of base paste, 304 commercial wrappers, marijuana, 9 caliber ammunition, several cell phones, cash, and cutting and disassembly parts. According to the investigation, electronic scales and packaging materials used to prepare the continuous doses were also seized.
Since June, personnel from the Southern Narcotics Countermeasures Division have conducted surveillance missions, identified targets, and analyzed supply and distribution circuits. This study was complemented by surveys at the entrances to the tower and monitoring of the layout of 10th Avenue, where the researchers determined the normal movements of guards and guards. Following these reports, Ufeide pushed for calls for raids that led to arrests and drug seizures.
The operation is part of a series of interventions city police have carried out since taking over security at 1-11-14 less than a year ago. During this period, break-ins into hallways and homes used as warehouses increased rapidly, vendor exchange circuits were identified, and outdoor sales stands were closed. According to investigators, the devices applied to Ricciardelli and Iria were aimed at neutralizing the group’s ability to rearm, simultaneously affecting the leadership, the division’s logistics, and the storage of drugs and funds.
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