Officials linked to corruption ring would charge up to $4 million pesos for services

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SANTIAGO.- The network, which was disbanded this morning, had allegedly been charging between 300 thousand and 4 million pesos to falsify judicial documents or locate important information for criminals. Several officials belonging to the Bureau of Police Investigations (PDI) and the Judicial Branch have been implicated.

This was the announcement made this morning by sources involved in the investigation, who indicated that 90% of the criminals who received illegal benefits committed their crimes before the Criminal Process Reform had become effective.

The general prefect of the metropolitan unit of the PDI, Carlos Gutiérrez, stated that crimes involved 11 officials belonging to the institution, ten of which are active and one who has retired.

Gutiérrez added that the crimes detected were falsification of judicial documents and delivery of criminal details to a former official, who later worked in the Judicial Branch.

Gutiérrez indicated that the irregular practices had been detected in April of last year and said that no officials have been dismissed, "because the Public Prosecutor (Nancy González) had asked that the indictments be halted so as not to compromise the investigation".

The PDI officer also stated that of the officials arrested, the highest ranking individual is a deputy officer and indicated that no police chiefs were involved.