Narc Gets 10 Years for Leaking Info

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An auxiliary member of the Judicial police Narcotics Squad received a 10 year sentence for leaking information about ongoing investigations to drug gangs. The judges called his behavior "betrayal of his duty."

The condemned, Walter Valverde, will also be unable to hold any public post for the next 1- years. A co-defendant was cleared by the criminal court through lack of evidence.

Valverde was also found guilty of international drug trafficking and illicit association with a drug gang. The case began about a year ago when it was found that drug runners were getting inside information and the two were arrested in March, 2011.

The condemned was a 10 year veteran of the Judicial police when he was discovered. In 2005, he became a member of the investigative narcotics squad. He was accused of providing protection to drug traffickers.

In the sentence, chief judge Ricardo Barahona noted that neither defendant was found to have physically trafficked in drugs. However, Barahona found that Valverde had definitely aided defendants in the Drug Court by providing sensitive information.

The judge found that police wire taps allowed the prosecution to build an airtight case against Valverde. Judge Patricia Araya agreed, finding that Valverde's "intriguing" with narcotics traffickers in exchange for money had put "court members and police in peril."

Prosecuting attorney Walter Espinosa called the guilty verdict "a victory over organized crime." But Valverde's lawyer, Victor Obando, said he intends to appeal, considering the charges to be a labor question, not a crime.