A judge in Ecuador ordered 30 people to stand trial in a wide-ranging organised crime and drug trafficking case, according to Reuters.
Among the defendants summoned to court are the former president of the judiciary regulator, provincial officials, judges and prosecutors, as well as former police general and members of the SNAI prison agency.
Fifty-two people were originally charged in the case, but a dozen received benefits, speedy trials and reduced sentences for cooperating with investigators.
Judge Manuel Cabrera ruled on Monday that seven should be acquitted for lack of evidence. However, President Daniel Noboa stated that judges and prosecutors were too lenient with members of criminal gangs.
The Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into officials in Ecuador’s judicial system after Leandro Norero, whom authorities linked to drug trafficking gangs, was killed in prison in 2022 while in custody for money laundering.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants used money from illegal activities under Norero’s leadership to strategically move officials in the justice system and obtain legal favours.
Operation Metastasis also uncovered a separate case of corruption in the Guayas provincial court, which was being investigated by the attorney general’s office.
