Colombian police arrest woman known as "The Doll," a reported assassin for gang linked to multiple murders

Police in Colombia announced the arrest this week of a woman nicknamed "The Doll," who local media reported to be a notorious hitwoman employed by a criminal gang linked to multiple murders in the country.

The Magdalena Medio region's police force posted a video on social media this week showing the woman, identified by local news outlet Diario del Norte as 22-year-old Karen Juliet Ojeda Rodríguez, in custody along with a male suspect.

The police said the woman -- identified as "La Muñeca" or "The Doll" -- and the male suspect whom they identified by the alias "Leopoldo," were taken into custody for possession of a 9mm handgun, which was being put through ballistic tests to determine whether it had been used in crimes in the city of Barrancabermeja.

Lieutenant Colonel Mauricio Herrera described the arrests as "important results in combating murder." 

Diario del Norte described the 22-year-old woman as the second-in-command of a gang called "Los de la M," which battles with other criminal groups for the control of drug trafficking in the country's northern region of Santander.

The newspaper reports that "La Muñeca" plunged into the criminal underworld at age 18, and was at the time of her arrest in charge of coordinating targeted assassinations, and even killed her ex-partner, a man known as "Orejas", or "Ears."

CBS News reached out to the Magdalena Medio's press office for more information but received no immediate response.

According to El Espectador, more than 120 killings have taken place in the city of Barrancabermeja so far this year. 

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• Colombia