21 October 2004
U.S. Breaks Up Mexican Drug-Trafficking Organization
83 people arrested in case involving money laundering
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States has broken up a Mexican money-laundering and drug-trafficking organization in a case which resulted in the arrests of 83 people, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
In an October 19 statement, the DEA said the Mexican drug organization allegedly laundered nearly $200 million sent from various locations in the United States to Mexican targets over the course of about two years. The DEA said its investigation, code-named "Operation Money Clip," established that the drug ring distributed about 500 kilograms of cocaine, 200 pounds of methamphetamine, 20 kilograms of heroin, and 10,000 pounds of marijuana per month in that two-year period.
The money was laundered through remittance services, businesses, and foreign bank accounts, the DEA said. Money Clip, launched in 2003, was designed to focus investigations on the methods and routes used by smugglers to ship large amounts of currency from the United States to the sources of drug supply in Mexico and other foreign countries, said the DEA.
DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said the agency's operation "clearly illustrates how money fuels the drug trade, and attacking these illicit profits is the key to dismantling drug organizations." She added that by "getting to the root of this sophisticated criminal organization, we have taken away their profits, their drugs, and arrested their key leadership."
Meanwhile, in other news regarding Mexico, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency announced the formal opening of two new attaché offices -- one in Mexico City, and one in Ottawa, Canada, in support of the agency's international border security operations.
In an October 20 statement, the CBP said the new offices will coordinate "smart border" activities and serve as emissaries representing CBP border-security efforts abroad.
Specifically, the offices will coordinate programs that screen cargo, conveyances, and people seeking entry into U.S. ports, before they are permitted to come in from a foreign country, the CBP said. The agency said the attaché offices will also serve as a liaison with the host country's government, providing technical assistance, fostering secure trade practices, and strengthening border-authority principles with foreign nations.
CBP Commissioner Robert Bonner said the attaché offices are an important part of his agency's plan to help protect the United States from terrorist attacks.
"In order to secure and protect America from the terrorist threat, we must create virtual borders that extend beyond our geographic perimeter and [work] to make these borders smarter," said Bonner.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=October&x=20041021153724AEneerG0.67474&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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