Colombia’s chief prosecutor ordered the arrest Thursday of a cashiered navy rear admiral on charges he helped drug traffickers.

Rear Adm. Gabriel Arango was fired in August over accusations that traffickers paid him for information on the movements of drug patrols off Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

Arango, who headed the navy’s Caribbean fleet at the time, denies the charges.

An official in Colombia’s prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press that prosecutors would also question two other high-ranking admirals, including the navy’s No. 2, about the case. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give information about the case.

Arango was seen turning himself in to authorities in the Caribbean city of Cartagena.

The arrest is part of a larger investigation by authorities into links between Colombia’s armed forces and drug trafficking.

Colombia’s military is a major recipient of U.S. aid to combat the world’s largest cocaine industry.