A plucky widow avenged her murdered husband by seducing the crook who ordered his death and turning him over to the cops.

The woman is being hailed as a heroine after she made the justice evader fall in love with her and spent years gathering evidence about his crimes.

The woman, whose identity is being withheld, single-handedly infiltrated a criminal gang in Cordoba Department, Colombia.

The gang’s leader, whom the authorities had been pursuing for years but to no avail, had allegedly ordered her husband’s murder.

The widow spent years planning her revenge, seducing the crime boss, and gathering evidence for his arrest on multiple charges.

The suspect, identified as Ruben Dario Viloria Barrios, had been suspected by the police since at least 2020 but had never been convicted of any crimes.

He posed as a respectable merchant in the town of Cienaga de Oro and was described by acquaintances as a deeply religious man.

Behind the facade, he was “Juancho” – a criminal mastermind who orchestrated drug shipments to Central America and the United States.

He also ordered attacks on rivals and former collaborators, as well as trafficking firearms and ammunition.

He is believed to have evaded justice for so long by keeping a low profile and always getting others to do his dirty work.

After her husband’s murder, the woman began to infiltrate Juancho’s social circles, slowly getting closer to him and eventually making him fall in love with her.

Over time, he came to trust her so much that he shared information about his criminal dealings with her, which she then handed over to the authorities.

Thanks to her actions, the authorities were able to build a solid case against Juancho.

The woman had told investigators that she was planning to attend a meeting with him and other criminals in the city of Monteria.

There, he was apprehended by a National Police Special Operations Group in an intervention dubbed Operation Corona.

Juancho, who was wanted by Interpol, must now serve more than 20 years behind bars.

In a statement obtained by Newsflash, the National Police of Colombia said: “As part of the ‘Human Security for Life and Peace’ framework, led by the Presidency of the Republic, members of the intelligence department carried out the effective capture of Ruben Dario Viloria Barrios alias ‘Juancho’, a facilitator of a drug trafficking network and coordinator of a multi-crime structure involved in homicides and extortions in the Uraba and Cordoba subregions. He was wanted through an INTERPOL Red Notice and an arrest warrant to serve a 22-year sentence for the crimes of manufacturing, trafficking, and carrying restricted or military-use firearms, ammunition, or explosives, aggravated.

“According to information gathered by investigators from the Intelligence Directorate, this person has a criminal history of more than 10 years, having become known for his military capability in coordinating attacks against the Public Forces.

“He facilitated an international drug trafficking network and coordinated a multi-crime structure for homicides and extortions with criminal influence in the Uraba and Cordoba subregions, where he coordinated the shipment of narcotics with transit in Central America and final destination in the United States, using the ‘Go Fast’ speedboat modality, with a monthly shipping capacity of approximately 1.5 tonnes of cocaine.

“The multi-crime network led by ‘Juancho’ would be related to the multiple homicides that occurred in the municipality of San Carlos (Cordoba) on 28 January, 2023, and other homicides registered in San Bernardo del Viento and Chinu (Cordoba).

“He would be responsible for receiving emissaries from drug trafficking organisations in Panama, Costa Rica, and Honduras in the Uraba Antioquia region to coordinate the sale of narcotics. Likewise, he is responsible for ordering criminal actions against the Public Forces in the subregions of Uraba Antioquia, Bajo Cauca Antioquia, and Cordoba. Additionally, he would be related to the murder of two police officers in the district of Puerto Valdivia, including the Station Commander, which occurred in 2018.

“This person has an INTERPOL Red Notice and an arrest warrant to serve a sentence for the crime of manufacturing, trafficking, and carrying restricted or military-use firearms, ammunition, or explosives, aggravated, and one record in the Oral Accusatory Criminal Justice System for drug trafficking, manufacturing, and carrying.

“This operational result deals a structural blow to transnational drug trafficking networks, fracturing their connections and coordination for international drug trafficking.

“This arrest represents an important contribution to coexistence and citizen security in the department of Cordoba and the Uraba Antioqueno subregion, areas greatly affected by the extortion of merchants, ranchers, and farmers.

“It generates a weakening of multi-crime structures established in the Uraba subregion and the department of Cordoba, which were responsible for selective homicides.

“It affects the finances of drug trafficking networks, reducing their criminal income through drug trafficking activities, as well as disruption drug trafficking coordination from the coastal areas of Uraba Antioqueno to the final destination in the United States.

“It fractures criminal negotiations for cocaine trafficking, since the person in charge of receiving foreign emissaries in Uraba Antioqueno to finalise drug trafficking negotiations is no longer in the criminal scenario.

“It reduces drug trafficking through the Caribbean Sea from the coastal districts of Uraba Antioqueno, considering that ‘Juancho’ was sending approximately 1.5 tonnes of cocaine monthly to Panama, Costa Rica, and Honduras, with the final destination being the United States.

“It reduces armed actions against the Public Forces in the subregions of Uraba Antioqueno, Bajo Cauca Antioqueno, and Cordoba, due to the fact that ‘Juancho’ was responsible for ordering various offensive actions.”