Police in Mar del Plata, Argentina could never have expected the tale that would unravel after a seemingly routine drug bust. The story they found themselves a part of is still causing the lawmen to shake their heads in wonderment.

Following up on complaints from neighbors, police began a stakeout of Juan Jantum’s house. A steady stream of people coming and going from the house made the decision to investigate an easy one. Juan Jantum’s house was obviously being used to distribute drugs.

Coastal city Mar del Plata is a top vacation spot for Argentines.

At 1:50 am on March 4th, police witnessed a woman arrive by taxi, enter the house and exit a few minutes later. They apprehended her as she walked out, the two doses of acid in her purse causing the expected arrest. It was, however, a shock to find out that the person in custody was in fact a man named Sergio. Despite being caught red-handed, there are no arrest records for Sergio, probably owing as much to her baritone protestations of innocence as to what happened next.

Entering the house, the police quickly found more than enough evidence to make an arrest. Scattered about the house and largely prepped for distribution, were more than 4 kilos of marijuana and 600 grams of cocaine. Jantum (45, aka “Ruben Castro”, aka “Piti”, aka ‘Pepe”) was indignant at losing his wares and being hauled off to jail. Accusing the police of kidnapping his drugs, he shouted, “I have judicial protection!”

Cops uncovered a major corruption
scandal in Mar del Plata, Argentina

Confounded, the police wondered exactly just what he meant. As Jantum happily explained, he was legally allowed to sell the drugs because they were “taken from the evidence vault of the Federal Court.”

After being assured that there is no such thing as “judicial protection” for dealing drugs, Jantum quickly implicated everybody in his operation. Beginning with Jose “Chico” Tarantino, a local mechanic who delivered the drugs, on up to the Court Clerks and Guards who stole the drugs and finally to the Federal Judge who adjusted the evidence records to show that the drugs were never there.

Sensing they were on the verge of breaking a major public corruption case, the police moved quickly and quietly. Paperwork for their arrest was held to keep it out of the public record and avoid raising Judge Roberto Falcone’s suspicions. Turns out they needn’t have been so cagey.

Falcone was already raising eyebrows around the court house, having in the same week brazenly pocketed $400 in walking around money from the evidence vault. A quick review of records showed that Falcone was not even trying to hide his tracks, recently adjusting 20 kilos of marijuana from the evidence reports with no explanation provided.

The court clerk, Facundo Capparelli, had noticed the discrepancies and when confronted by police admitted to knowing of the thefts. Asked as to why he hadn’t felt the need to file a report he shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Report what? We’re going to burn everything.”

Sure enough that same day Capparelli signed an order to incinerate all of the drugs stored in the vault, thus destroying all evidence of the crimes. Public Prosecutor Adrian Peres was able to secure a court injunction preventing the burning and allowing an inspection of the vault. Peres discovered massive amounts of contraband were missing:

Court proceedings start this week in Mar del Plata.

64 kilos of Marijuana and 8 plants,
11.5 kilos of Cocaine,
49 doses of LSD,
239 tablets of Ecstasy,
12 doses of PCP and,
2 Hallucinogenic Mushrooms.

Later chemical tests confirmed that the drugs found in Jantum’s house were in fact from the federal evidence vault.

Court proceedings open this week in the cases against Capparelli, Jantum and Tarantino. No word on whether or not “Sergio” will be making an appearance to recount her tale of the fateful evening.

Honorable Roberto Falcone is still sitting on the federal judiciary, as no charges have been brought against him. He is also serving on a Congressional Advisory Committee on Issues surrounding the Repression of Drug Traffickers and Complex Criminality.

Related

Juicio a dos secretarios y un policía por el robo de droga de un tribunal (Clarin)

Drogas en Mar del Plata, episodio II. Jueces, policías y una historia de novela (El Ojo Digital)

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