Fake Televisa crew receives sentence for trafficking

Nicaragua border

flickr- Carlos Adampol

A court in Nicaragua delivers the sentence for the fake Televisa crew whose members were found guilty of drug trafficking and money laundering. 

In August 2012, police officials apprehended six vans near the border between Nicaragua and Honduras and found them to be carrying more than $9 million in cash. The vans were bearing the logo of Televisa, a Mexican company and the largest media network in Latin America. The eighteen people arrested claimed to be journalists and technicians working for Televisa, sent to Nicaragua to cover a high-profile murder trial. 

However, when contacted the media company denied that it had any link with those arrested, all of whom are Mexican citizens. The group comprised seventeen men and one woman, named Raquel Alatorre, who is said to be the leader of the group. 

Aside from the large sum of money, the police also found traces of cocaine in the vans. The judge overseeing the case, Edgar Altamirano, ruled that the evidence pointed to drug trafficking, organized crime and money laundering. 

Following the guilty verdict, the prosecution called for the maximum sentence for each charge. This would mean 36 years in jail for Alatorre and 34 years for the rest of the group. However, the maximum sentence in Nicaragua is 30 years. 

During the trial, the accused maintained their innocence, insisting that they work for Televisa.