The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assumed jurisdiction over the investigation and custody of two alleged leaders of a criminal organization operating in the La Colectora sector of Barriada Figueroa in Santurce. The men were arrested Wednesday during a raid in the Inclán sector of the Hato Nuevo neighborhood in Guaynabo, where illegal weapons and large quantities of controlled substances were seized. The Metropolitan Drug Division's investigation led to a residence used as an operations center.
Those arrested were identified as Gabriel Lizardi Guadalupe, 23, described as the group's leader and gunman with prior state convictions for drug law violations, and Ángel Reyes Colón, 50, who was on federal probation since 2016 for weapons and drug possession offenses and will have his probation revoked; he was a resident of the Vista Hermosa public housing project in Puerto Nuevo. Lizardi Guadalupe is a suspect in the January 3 killing of tourist Omar Padilla Vélez, 33, who was shot in the head in Barriada Figueroa after arriving with his girlfriend due to a GPS mix-up; he died January 22, and his girlfriend was also wounded. Criminal charges are expected soon in that case.
The raid yielded four AK-47 rifles, two Glock pistols, 1,034 rounds of ammunition, marijuana, crack, cocaine, two vehicles and a motorcycle.