A cross-border law enforcement collaboration has resulted in the capture of a high-profile Spanish fugitive wanted for major drug trafficking and money laundering offenses in the Dominican Republic. The arrest of 41-year-old Jonathan Yera Pozo was carried out by Dominican Republic’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD), with critical support from law enforcement agencies across Europe and the United States, marking a major breakthrough in the global fight against transnational organized crime.
The operation, codenamed “Fast Lap”, was launched in response to an extradition request from Spanish judicial authorities, with the core goal of dismantling an international criminal network, apprehending key network members, and gathering critical evidence tied to the organization’s illegal money laundering activities. The multi-agency effort brought together a wide range of international stakeholders, including the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Spain’s national police force, the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Spanish Civil Guard’s Judicial Police Service, the Global Drug Information Network (GDIN), and Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement cooperation agency.
Domestically, the operation was coordinated by the Directorate of International Legal Cooperation of the Dominican Public Ministry and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism under the Attorney General’s Office. Before the arrest, law enforcement teams conducted weeks of extensive surveillance and sophisticated intelligence gathering to track Yera Pozo’s location and movements. The capture took place during a targeted raid in Punta Cana, a municipal district in La Altagracia province, carried out under an arrest and extradition order issued by the Dominican Supreme Court of Justice. Yera Pozo is accused in Spain of leading a criminal organization responsible for large-scale drug trafficking — a serious crime against public health — and running a coordinated money laundering ring.
Fast Lap is a far-reaching international operation that extended far beyond the Dominican Republic. The operation included 38 simultaneous law enforcement raids across multiple countries, all aimed at dismantling the entire transnational criminal structure that Yera Pozo was part of.
During the raid on Yera Pozo’s property and a search of his vehicles, law enforcement seized a large cache of assets and evidence linked to the alleged criminal activity. Confiscated items include multiple mobile communication devices: cell phones, a MacBook Air laptop, and tablets from Apple, Samsung, and SPC. Investigators also found three Ledger-brand cold cryptocurrency wallets, seven luxury watches from top global brands including Rolex, Hublot, Richard Mille, and Apple, along with a large collection of fine jewelry. Additional physical assets seized include a Mercedes-Benz GLS 580 4Matic, vehicle registration and ownership documents, loan and real estate agreements, multiple domestic and international bank cards, and a combined total of $11,500 in U.S. currency and 79,815 Dominican pesos.
This successful joint operation reaffirms the Dominican Republic’s longstanding commitment to combating transnational organized crime head-on and strengthening frameworks for international legal cooperation. Yera Pozo remains in the custody of Dominican security authorities, where he is being held pending all required legal proceedings to complete his extradition to Spain to face the charges against him.