Former NIE Agent says only 80 investigators left to investigate crimes

By The Star Staff

Former Special Investigations Bureau (NIE) assistant director Luis Pagán, denounced in a radio program Monday a significant decrease in the number of criminal investigators to 80 from about 400.

“When I was in the Special Investigations Bureau, […] I had about 400 agents, more or less. Currently, there are not even 80 agents to work with corruption and organized crime cases. I mean, what can you do with it? Practically nothing,” said Pagán in an interview with Radio Isla.

Apart from the staff reductions, Pagán denounced that prosecutors are hindering the work of experienced agents. He said there are still cases that have yet to be investigated and very little execution to fight crime.

“We have some politicians who act hypocritically, looking only to win votes and not seeing further. They do not go out of the box to see what is happening in other advanced countries where crime has been reduced with measures such as decriminalization” he said.

“There are people who don’t report crimes because they have lost trust in the authorities. But all violent Type 1 crimes have increased except for murders and homicides, which have decreased,” he added.

The situation occurs amid a continuous criminal wave that drug traffickers lead, and when women begin to appear as heads of drug points.

“They have always been active […] In Puerto Rico that is also gaining prominence. Women who go from being employees to becoming owners of drug points and give orders and direct,” said Pagan.

In the drug trafficking world, some women become murder victims because they are related to people in drug trafficking.

“What we are seeing is a great deterioration in terms of public safety in Puerto Rico, that it is worrysome,” the former agent concluded.