“Onco14 defendant sold controlled drugs illegally”

Santo Domingo.- The Public Ministry revealed that the main defendant in Operation Onco14 allegedly used the pharmacy of the Patronato Cibaeño Contra el Cáncer to market medications containing controlled substances outside of the procedures established by law, as part of a scheme of irregularities detected during several official inspections.

According to the request for coercive measures filed by the prosecuting body, Héctor Antonio Lora Cruceta, former president of the Patronato Cibaeño Contra el Cáncer, allegedly used his position within the institution to allow practices related to the irregular sale of medications subject to special control.

The investigation maintains that the authorities detected multiple anomalies during inspections carried out by the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), in coordination with other regulatory bodies. Among the irregularities noted are the dispensing of controlled medications without the corresponding authorizations, the commercialization of drugs intended exclusively for hospital use, and the existence of expired products within the pharmacy’s inventory.

The findings led to new interventions in which, according to the file, a pattern of repetitive medical prescriptions linked to alleged medication donations was identified, a situation that raised suspicions regarding the handling of controlled substances within the health center.

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The Public Prosecutor’s Office also maintains that some of the medications obtained through aid programs and donations were not intended for the patients for whom they were conceived, but were allegedly diverted for commercialization. Likewise, the accusation points out that some substances ended up in the hands of people with a history of dependence on this type of drug.

The investigation also includes alleged administrative and financial irregularities related to the supply of medication to patients, including the supposed double billing of pharmaceutical products and the commercialization of medications that had been received free of charge by the institution.

As a result of the inspections, the General Directorate of Medicines, Food and Sanitary Products (DIGEMAPS) recommended the cessation of the pharmacy’s outpatient operations, after verifying non-compliance considered serious regarding health and drug control regulations.

In addition to Lora Cruceta, the file involves other individuals linked to the Board of Trustees and related entities, against whom the Public Prosecutor’s Office is requesting the imposition of 18 months of pretrial detention and the declaration of the case as complex.

The hearing to determine the coercive measure is taking place at the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of Santiago.