A judge in Uruguay has ordered Edgardo Bonino, 45, known as “El Meo”, held for 180 days in preventive detention, according to the prosecution service. Preventive detention is pre-trial custody, so he is a suspect and is presumed innocent.
Uruguay’s Fiscalía General de la Nación is the national prosecution service. Police described Bonino as one of the main sellers of pasta base, a cheap cocaine-base drug, in the Marconi area of Montevideo.
Key Facts
—What. Edgardo Bonino, known as “El Meo”, is charged and held for 180 days before trial.
—Charges. Drug trafficking in an organised group, domestic arms trafficking, and a firearm with erased marks.
—Case. Linked to Operation Trazador, a Montevideo drug investigation, with five people detained in recent raids.
—Status. Suspects are presumed innocent until a court rules.
A judge has ordered a suspected cocaine-base trafficker and two others held for six months while investigators continue; all three are presumed innocent.
The Charges Against Bonino
The prosecution service said Bonino is charged with organising criminal activities linked to drug trafficking and with illicit drug trafficking, aggravated by membership of an organised criminal group. It said he also faces a charge of domestic arms trafficking.
The charges also cover carrying or possessing a firearm with its identification marks erased. Two other people were charged in the same case.
The Raids Behind the Case
Bonino was detained days earlier in raids in a new stage of Operation Trazador. Five people were detained in the raids.
The operation had earlier results in September 2026, when three people were convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering. Details of the new stage have not been fully published.
Why It Matters
Pre-trial custody keeps suspects detained while investigators build the case, here for 180 days. The detention follows a September court result in the same operation.
There is no direct figure tying this case to US readers or markets. It is a local organised-crime case in Montevideo.
What Is Not Known
The date of any trial is not known. The names of the other two suspects and the detail of their detention terms have not been confirmed.
What to Watch Next
No trial date has been announced, so the next checkpoint is the end of the 180 days of preventive detention. More coverage is in Uruguay news.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is ‘El Meo’?
Edgardo Bonino, 45, is a suspected drug trafficker in Montevideo. Police described him as one of the main sellers of pasta base.
What does preventive detention mean?
It is pre-trial custody ordered by a judge while a case is investigated. Bonino is held for 180 days and is presumed innocent until a court rules.
What is Operation Trazador?
It is a Montevideo investigation into drug trafficking, with convictions in September 2026 and new raids in November. Five people were detained in the latest stage.
Sources: Uruguay’s Fiscalía General de la Nación, 12 November 2026.
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