22 August 2005
U.S. Dismantles Major Mexican, Colombian Drug-Transport Rings
Drug Enforcement Administration investigation leads to arrests of 164 people
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced it has broken up three major Colombian and Mexico drug-transportation rings in an investigation leading to the arrests of 164 people and the seizure of large amounts of illegal drugs.
In an August 19 statement, the DEA said the amount of drugs seized under its 10-month investigation called, "Operation Three-Hour Tour," could have provided nearly 1.8 million cocaine users, 22,700 methamphetamine users and approximately 13,620 heroin users with their drug of choice for a month. The drug rings are known to have been operating within the United States for several years, according to the DEA.
The DEA said the investigation highlights the "dangerous and violent nature of the drug trade" and the drug-transportation organizations associated with moving drugs over the U.S. border. Among the drugs, cash and luxury items seized during the operation were multiple high-powered weapons, including a .50-caliber assault rifle with armor-piercing ammunition.
More than 65 search warrants were executed under the DEA operation, resulting in the arrests of the 164 suspects. Those arrests took place in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and the U.S. cities of New York; Los Angeles; New Haven, Connecticut; and Des Moines, Iowa. Seized in the operation were over 3,000 pounds of cocaine, 55 pounds of methamphetamine, 15 pounds of heroin, 9.5 ounces of crack cocaine, 10,000 doses of Ecstasy, 216 pounds of marijuana, $5.5 million in cash, 58 vehicles and 52 firearms.
As a result of the operation, the "streets from Bogotá to Los Angeles are no longer a free-trade zone for the criminals arrested today," said DEA Administrator Karen Tandy. "Rest assured the DEA will be relentless in targeting drug traffickers and their illicit money until they no longer have the assets or means to put their poisons into the hands of our children."
The announcement of the arrests came a day after the Bush administration announced new initiatives to battle the spread of methamphetamine in the United States. The initiatives build on previous agreements with the governments of China, Mexico and Panama to restrict the diversion of precursor chemicals -- such as pseudoephedrine -- to methamphetamine labs in the United States and elsewhere.
Additional information about the Bush administration's new initiatives against methamphetamine is available on DEA's Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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