Honduras’s DIPAMPCO anti-gang police captured three alleged Mara Salvatrucha members and seized a marijuana load in northern Honduras.[1] Spokesperson Rosa Guadalupe said the three were responsible for moving, storing and distributing the drug.[1] Police identified one detainee as 19-year-old Osman Edgardo Martínez Vázquez, alias El Veloz, who allegedly moved the drug from place to place.[1] Police identified the second detainee as 21-year-old Michael Rápalo, alias El Colocho, who allegedly hid the drug to avoid detection.[1] Police identified the third detainee as Angie Elizabeth Oliva García, alias La Yegua, who allegedly stored the load.[1] The three will be sent before judicial authorities on aggravated drug-trafficking charges.[1]

Officers intercepted a red pick-up in aldea El Carmen, colonia Colinas, finding marijuana hidden in a false compartment built into the vehicle.[1] Authorities put the load’s value at more than four million lempiras (150,404.60 dollars) and said it was meant for narcomenudeo, street-level retail sale, in different parts of Honduras.[1] Investigators confirmed the vehicle had an adapted double bottom for moving drugs past checkpoints without raising suspicion.[1] DIPAMPCO said investigations remain open to establish the load’s exact origin and where it was to be distributed.[1] Authorities did not rule out more people involved in the northern Honduras storage and distribution network.[1]

DIPAMPCO said it will continue intelligence and surveillance work to weaken the finances and logistics of criminal groups operating in the country.[1]