Mexico's Top Federal Police Man Quits, Mysteriously...

Mexico City Cathedral

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In another story sure to bring confidence to Mexican citizens, the Acting federal police commissioner- he succeeded the last one, who was shot- quit under mysterious circumstances. On a saturday? Via a press release on a website? What the hell, Mexican Federal Police?

Acting federal police Commissioner Gerardo Garay said he was stepping aside "to place myself at the orders of legal judicial authorities to clear up any accusation against me."

Garay did not say what accusations he was referring to, nor were federal officials available Saturday to comment on the resignation. But the newspaper Reform reported Saturday that prosecutors are looking into whether the federal police assigned to the Mexico City airport had aided drug traffickers.

A top operator of the Sinaloa drug cartel was arrested in Mexico City on Oct. 20 following a gunbattle with police, and prosecutors say the man was in charge of trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine through the capital's international airport.

(MIAMI HERALD AP)

Culiacán Sinaloa

Culiacán, originally uploaded by Dante Marcola.

Lovely Culiacan. I hear it's lovely this time of year.

Chihuahua: 1000 Cops/Troops Invade Mexican Prison

Prison that held Benito Juarez.

RELATED CONTENT: Chihuahua Crime
(CAT DIRT SEZ)
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Where I come from- the United States- there are rarely prison invasions involving:

Nearly 600 members of the Mexican military police and more than 200 municipal and Chihuahua state police

(EL PASO TIMES)

Sounds amazing. Where is the video of this event- I want to see it!!! Turns out Mexican Prisons have gangs, too:

Authorities said Friday's operation was intended to disrupt the leadership of the Aztecas, Mexicles and Artistas Asesinos (Artist Assassins) gangs, who operate in different sections of the prison.

The raid, which was part of Joint Operation Chihuahua, took place because authorities suspect a group of prisoners was planning to start a riot in the next few days.

Five reputed leaders of the Artistas Asesinos, also known as AA, were transferred to the state Cereso prison, officials said.

Hey Mexico, good luck with your prison gangs. I know it's going pretty well here in the U.S. ha ha. Honestly though- it does sound pretty cool. Also I like use the descriptor of "raid" to describe this event. 800 people? Most battles in Iraq don't involve that many people.

Head of Sinaloa Cartel Operations in Nicaragua Arrested

Nicaragua

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After a police action called Operation Trojan completed in different parts of Nicaragua, authorities in that country identified the Mexican Martin Lugo Lucio as the alleged "kingpin" drug dealer who ran a center for collecting drug dismantled in recent days Managua.

In a communique, the police released the results of Operation Trojan, made from 27 to Oct. 30 in different parts of the country and which led to the capture of 18 alleged drug traffickers, including Mexican Lugo Lucio, three Hondurans and a Salvadoran.

According to the police spokesman, Commissioner Vilma Reyes, Lugo is presumed that Lucio was in charge of a storage site belonging to drug cartel in Sinaloa, which he Nicaraguan police dismantled a logistics base last year.

During Operation Trojan, "the police conducted raids and arrests in Managua, in Yalagüina (north), Chinandega (northwest) and Penas Blancas (south), where they seized 42.6 kilos of cocaine, 367 thousand 660 U.S. dollars, ten vehicles Three buildings and weapons, the report said.

(EL UNIVERSAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

Operation Dirty Laundry Unwittingly References Don Henley Song

Nearly two dozen people were indicted this week on drug charges stemming from a four-month investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force.

The sting was called "Operation Dirty Laundry" because the defendants allegedly conducted much of their business at laundromats. Investigators seized more than $75,000 worth of cocaine, the largest take for the prosecutor's office in more than 15 years, County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest has said.

Among those caught in the sting were three Plainfield men indicted Thursday. Authorities have said the three were ran the operation.

Maximo Bueno, 32, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to distribute. Jose Monrroy Galdamez, 49, was charged with multiple counts, including drug distribution and possession with intent to distribute. And German Marquez, 25, was charged with distribution and conspiracy to distribute, as well as possession.

The trio allegedly distributed drugs in and around North Plainfield, Forrest and police Chief William Parenti have said. At the time of their arrest on Oct. 3, police found about 2 pounds of cocaine in a lock box that was in a laundry bag filled with soiled clothing.

(NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER)

Don Mario is Colombia's Hot Drug Lord

You want to be a 'drug lord'? Then you better either be the head of the Cali or Medellin Cartel in Colombia, the Gulf, Sinaloa or Arellano-Felix Cartel in Mexico or whomever the big guy is in Russia or Eastern Europe. That's what it takes. Otherwise, you're just a 'drug king pin.'

MEDELLIN, Colombia -- He commands a private combat-ready army of more than 1,000 men, wears designer fashions and checks the time with a collection of Cartier and Rolex watches.

He allegedly controls three criminal networks that earn him millions of dollars through high-priced prostitution, money laundering and cocaine trafficking.

His name is Daniel Rendón Herrera, also known as ''Don Mario,'' a 43-year-old owner of several aircraft and vessels, whose arrest is worth $1.5 million to the Colombian government.

According to Colombian authorities and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Rendón is Colombia's most powerful drug lord and partner of the largest Mexican drug cartels.

Don Mario is the brother of former paramilitary leader Freddy Rendón, also known as ''El Alemán.'' He is awaiting extradition to the United States, where he is wanted for drug trafficking.

On Oct. 15, Don Mario circulated pamphlets throughout the region announcing the formation of his new army, the ''Colombian Gaitanist Auto-defense Forces,'' striking panic among local residents.

The name ''Gaitanist'' refers to populist Liberal Party leader Eliécer Gaitán, who was murdered in 1948, unleashing a series of massive protests and popular uprisings that came to be known as ``El Bogotázo.''

Authorities think Don Mario's collaborators are made up of former FARC guerrillas and members of other criminal organizations who have switched sides, often bringing with them large arsenals and groups of men trained for combat.

(MIAMI HERALD)

Bro, he has his own para-military. C'mon. You can't fuck with that.

Feds find 800 Grand, Automatic Guns in Black Mafia Family HUMMER

Black Mafia Family

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I love the Black Mafia Family- what style, what panache:

The Hummer limousine seized from the drug-dealing Black Mafia Family almost four years ago had been sold at auction, then sold three times more. It had been carrying teenagers to proms and brides and grooms to weddings.

In August, agents tracked down the car, looked underneath the seats and found $875,000 in cash and seven brand new semi-automatic weapons, believed to be proceeds from BMF cocaine transactions.

(ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION)

Awesome. Four years later. Ha-ha-ha.

Parenting Advice Given by Child Molester

A convicted sex offender who claims to have molested 221 children over a 25-year period says the easiest targets were children whose parents were not active in their lives.

“That one technique… would attract the boy like a moth to the flame,” Mark told 9Wants to Know.

"The kinds of boys who were really easy to target and to get into those situations were boys who were fairly passive and who didn't have a lot of self confidence to start with and who didn't spend a lot of time doing things with their families," said Mark.

(CHANNEL 9 NEWS DENVER)

Um thanks?

Pittsburgh Area Crack Distribution Organization Indicted

The U.S. Attorney, Mary Beth Buchanan, calls them "wannabe... crips."

A two-and-a-half-year investigation led to the indictments of 50 people involved in cocaine distribution in Braddock this week.

A total of 250 agents from a number of local, state and federal law enforcement organizations made the arrests and served nine search warrants yesterday in Braddock, North Braddock, Penn Hills, Swissvale, Turtle Creek and Squirrel Hill.

(PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE)

Sounds like they at least deserve a name "Braddock crips" or somesuch.

Halloween & Sex Offenders Culminates in Operation "Safe Treat"

Operation Safe Treat. It's the child sex offenders/halloween cross-over name we've all been waiting for. Did they consider "Operation Nice Trick" or something involving both "trick or treat"? It seems arbitrary to single out just "treat" in terms of the Halloween theme. Halloween sex offenders, spooky-scary. Suprisingly, they rounded up a bunch of registered sex offenders and charged with crimes. Wow. That sounds tough. Next up: Arresting senior citizens who are illegally collecting social security benefits. (ARIZONA REPUBLIC)

Jewish Leader Charged in Undoubtably Relgiously Motivated ICE Prosecution

Hmm. I'm not one to play the race/religion card but what's up with Sholom Rubashkin, 49, a powerful member of the Hasidic Jewish community and former head of the kosher plant Agriprocessors, being charged with 'harboring illegal aliens?' You're telling me that this is the only guy whose meat processing plant is using illegal aliens? Please. He's being singled out because of his religion. I'm not saying the charges are/are not true, I'm just saying he's being selected for prosecution because of his religion. (CNN)

9 Black Mafia Family Sentenced in Atlanta

Detroit high school crack sales: lucrative.

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The Black Mafia Family:

The Black Mafia Family began with two brothers — Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory — selling crack cocaine in Detroit high schools in the mid-1980s. Within a few years, their Black Mafia Family had moved into 11 states, making money through distribution rather than direct street sales.

(ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION)

An early example of the kind of drug distribution system now in vogue: stay away from the street sales, move the drugs from distribution point to distribution point. Their case is almost wrapped up. Of course, since then, the drugs have not stopped being distributed, in fact, the situation has gotten much worse- for Atlanta.

Hey but let's not forget their "legitimate arm": Black Mafia Family Entertainment. Family entertainment, indeed.

Eduardo Arellano Felxi to be Extradited to U.S.

Altiplano Prison, Altiplano desert.

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(CAT DIRT SEZ)
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Contrary to initial reports ("He'll do his time in Mexico first, then be extradited to the U.S. afterwards.") the Mexican government has, in fact, begun extradition proceedings against Eduardo "El Doctor" Arellano-Felix. I thought so. (MIAMI HERALD)

New Operation Pay Cut Details

Towards the ATL I-10.

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Anytime the Feds take down 15+ plus in an indictment- drug related or not, I'm interested, because that is a tangible demonstration of where the money goes for law enforcement. If I worked for the Feds I would try this: Just take the drugs and money, but don't prosecute. Think of the advantage:
1. wouldn't have to burn undercovers.
2. Pays for itself!(the cash, not the drugs, of course.)
3. Much better way to gather intelligence.

They do that sometimes now a days, like in Operation Pay Cut:

Georgia State Police believe the nearly $1 million they found hidden in the door of former Hidalgo County deputy Sanchez's Ford F-350 dually during a traffic stop in January 2007 came from drug transactions between the two regions.

After officers stopped Sanchez on an interstate outside of Atlanta, he reportedly displayed his badge in an attempt to avert further investigation. But once they had found the money, Sanchez said he found it behind the dumpster of a nearby Hooter's.

Officers seized the cash but let Sanchez go.

(BROWNSVILLE HERALD)

That's clever. They do that out here.

Here's another priceless detail about techniques used to smuggle huge amounts of cash:

In a separate incident, officers found $13 million in alleged drug proceeds hidden in a livestock trailer driven by a Mercedes father and son duo.

Jesus Flores Sr. and his son Jesus Flores Jr. reportedly hid their cash in a compartment underneath live cows and concealed with a complex pulley system, investigators said.

That's 13 million dollars in cash money. This just goes back to what I was saying yesterday about focusing on the freeways- they're hiding the money in a cattle trail- what is the risk there? Zero. No guns- no chases- no nothing. What is the reward? 13 million. That hurts. It's not fatal- but it hurts.

Operation Pay Cut: A T L Edition

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MCALLEN TEXAS TO ATLANTA GEORGIA (GOOGLE MAPS)

During what’s being called “Operation Pay Cut,” federal agents and local police confiscated $22 million in cash. Nahmias said that’s a record.

“This is by far the largest ever seizure of [drug] proceeds in the Atlanta area,” he said. “This is another case of a major cartel-related Mexican organization that processed huge amounts of illegal drugs and money through metro Atlanta to many other parts of the country.”

Since November 2006, authorities have seized more than 223 kilograms of cocaine and more than 16,000 pounds of marijuana.

Agents of several federal agencies and some local law enforcement agencies tracked the drug trafficking scheme 977 miles back to McAllen, Texas — about 10 miles north of the Mexican border.

Authorities arrested eight cartel members Tuesday in metro Atlanta and another nine near McAllen.

(ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION)

Gulf Cartel Honcho Gunned Down During Meeting with Colombian in Panama

PANAMA -A Mexican died riddled by bullets and one Colombian was injured in the attack on the eve of three youths in a restaurant bar in this capital, authorities reported on Wednesday.

The deceased is Carlos Morfin Abel Rodriguez, who "apparently" is linked to the map of the Gulf, a gang of drug traffickers operating in Mexico, according to the police report the incident.

The foreigner drank a soda Tuesday afternoon when three subjects came to the establishment and shot him at an event in which he was wounded the driver of the victim, the Colombian Mario Fernandez, added the report.

In the police said they had no information on a version published by the journal Critical to the effect that, Morfin Rodriguez wore a business of exporting scrap to smuggle drugs into Europe and Guadalajara.

(MIAMI HERALD)

xo ??? I'm not going to guess, thanks.

Operation Pay Cut Targets South Texas to Atlanta Drug Trafficking Organization

"Highway Clean Up Sponsored by the Gulf Cartel

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"Operation Pay Cut" better or worse name then "Project Reckoning?" Both targeted the South Texas to Atlanta drug trafficking corridor- or d.t.c. I propose a campaign that focuses entirely on the transportation of narcotics on interstate freeways- focus on the d.t.c.'s: los angeles to houston, san diego to los angeles, houston to atlanta, atlanta to new york city- etc. Hub and spokes. Intercepting shipments on the highway is the highest reward/lowest risk- just seizing the drugs in large enough quantities is useful, even without sending people to prison.

Dubbed "Operation Pay Cut," the two-year investigation targeted the finances of drug smuggling organizations operating between Atlanta and cities such as McAllen, Brownsville and Mission. Federal agencies outlined their case in three separate indictments unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Atlanta.

Among those indicted locally is Emmanuel Sanchez, a former Hidalgo County sheriff's deputy, who was stopped by Georgia State Police outside Atlanta in 2006 and found to be carrying almost $1 million hidden in the doors of his truck.

Sanchez, 48, of Mission, allegedly flashed his badge in an attempt to avert further investigation, authorities there said at the time.

(MCALLEN MONITOR)

Here's what I say: The drugs HAVE to move in a concealed fashion in the U.S.- they can't move it in machine gun guarded convoys.

Also, using your fake/real sheriff's badge only works if they aren't tapping your phones.

Three indictments means either three different cells, or two cells and money launderer or one cell and two money launderers.

Grimmie Gang Leader Pleads Guilty

Cincinnati Skyline

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Brandon “Big Head” Rice admitted today he killed five people – including a fellow killer he feared would tell on him – as part of the Grimmie gang, a group of killers who terrorized Avondale as it dominated the drug trade in that area.

Rice often threatened others to protect himself by saying “snitches wind up with stitches.”

Rice was worried someone would squeal on him for killing Leon Jordan. That homicide came after Jordan teamed with Rice and another Grimmie gang member to commit a separate murder.

Rice pleaded guilty today to five murders and agreed to help authorities break the back of the rest of the murderous gang.

(CINCINNATI ENQUIRER)

Ironically for someone who threatened people by saying "snitches wind up with stiches," he himself will now be a snitch.

Maybe Not Use Bamboo for Next Prison?

Maybe not the best material with which to build a prison.

One prisoner was shot dead but a dozen more escaped from a Cameroonian jail built partially from bamboo, the central African country's prison service said.

(REUTERS)

Serbia Indicts 25 for Money Laundering

Well Serbia, that's mighty ambitious of you. Prosecuting people for money laundering? Are you trying to join the ranks of civilized nations or is this just a case of one mafia persecuting another mafia?

Serbian police have mounted a major raid across the country and arrested 25 people on suspicion of fraud and money laundering, a statement from the Interior Ministry says.

“The group of 25 people was detained on suspicion they embezzled at least €3 million and damaged Serbia’s state budget by €1.25 million,” the statement said. Another four suspects remained at large.
The suspects were charged for “conspiring to commit crime, abuse of office, taking and offering bribe, forgery of official documents and tax evasion.”

Between 2007 and 2008 the group was allegedly involved in cash purchases of various goods from a number of persons, something banned by law which stipulates that companies must trade through valid bank accounts and report all expenditures and revenues on the daily basis.

The group also allegedly presented false business results with forged receipts and laundered money through several existing companies in Belgrade, Pancevo, Novi Sad, Nis and Smederevo, the ministry said.

(BALKAN INSIGHT)

How often does this happen in Serbia? I haven't been following eastern European crime news for that long, but it's the first "Serbia Indicts" anything story ever. And you know they have a problem with organized crime in Serbia.

Croatia Changes Legal System to Fight Organized Crime

This right here- this is how you fight organized crime effectively:

Croatia has launched special courts, pledged improved witness protection and to rebuild the police force in an offensive against organized crime after last week’s murder of a journalist.

Simonovic said four specialized organized crime courts had been set up with instructions to hold quick and efficient trials.

Another law would curtail benefits enjoyed by convicted criminals in prison, where many have free weekends and regular access to laptops and mobile phones.

He said Croatia would also improve witness protection programs and move swiftly to confiscate criminals' property.

(BALKAN INSIGHT)

Let's just put it this way: If your country can't efficiently process the citizens it captures fighting crime, then it will never, ever solve the problem. Also, it is something the government can pro-actively do without worrying about specific operations against specific cartels- or what have you.

A Match Made in Nancy Grace Heaven

Tell Nancy Grace about this!

California death-row inmate Scott Peterson has been writing letters to Casey Anthony in the Orange County Jail, sources said.

(ORLANDO SUN SENTINEL)

Phil Spector Trial II, the commencing

Re-trial!

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A problem with the way criminal trials are presented in popular culture media: It only takes you to the end of the first trial. You ever see a re-trial during Law & Order? How about an appeal? There is some attempt to address the endless nature of criminal law within the context of cop shows- but they rarely delve deeply into the trial portion of the investigation.

Both side are promising a shorter event:

The first trial lasted five months. Both sides predict a conclusion in less than half that time.

(LA TIMES)


With Phil Spector you've actually got a retrial that is in the public spotlight- with such high stakes involved, it's no wonder people are interested in how it turns out. Last trial, he escaped by a hair's width. 11-1 for guilt? 10-2? So you have to think the prosecutor is going ftw here.

Colombian's Seize a Couple Hundred Million Bucks Worth of Cocaine

Port of Veracruz aka coke town.

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It was going to Veracruz, so that means the Gulf Cartel was going to receive it. They must be so pissed right now.

Colombia's National Police said it arrested three suspects and seized 10.5 tons of cocaine that were being smuggled from the Caribbean city of Barranquilla to the Mexican port of Veracruz, marking the biggest cocaine seizure ever on land.

The cocaine was found Saturday in two shipping containers that were being moved into the port of Barranquilla, National Police director Gen. Oscar Naranjo said in a press conference.

The drugs seized in "Operation Veracruz" had a street value of between $150 million and $200 million, Naranjo said, adding that the cocaine belonged to drug trafficker Daniel "El Loco" Barrera.

Colombia's cocaine production totaled more than 600 tons in 2007, U.S. drug czar John Walters said in Bogota on Oct. 9.

(OFFICER)

Gulf Cartel to U.S., "It is SO ON!"

Rio Grande River

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Cool article here from the Rio Grande Valley- indicating that the Zetas, the paramilitary enforcement wing of the Gulf Cartel are reaching out to street gangs on the U.S. side of the border and otherwise preparing for armed conflict with United States law enforcement. The collaboration between Mexican cartels and U.S. street gangs is hardly a new development- the Arellano Felix cartel has used Mexican street gang members as hit men- in Mexico- for years. Here are some of the data points for your perusal:

Vowing to maintain control over valuable trafficking corridors such as those in Reynosa, Matamoros and Miguel Alemán, the Gulf Cartel and its paramilitary enforcement wing, Los Zetas, have begun stockpiling weapons, reaching out to Texas gangs and issuing orders to "confront U.S. law enforcement agencies to zealously protect their criminal interests," an FBI intelligence report indicates.

An Oct. 17 FBI intelligence report obtained by The Monitor charts the development of this more brazen strategy for the Zetas.

In direct response to recent arrests and seizures in Texas, regional leader Jaime "El Hummer" González Durán has ordered dozens of reinforcements to Reynosa and urged his operatives to protect their turf at all cost.

Other key operatives such as the purported top Zeta, Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, and the alleged head of the Gulf Cartel, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, were indicted on conspiracy and drug trafficking charges in a Washington, D.C., federal court.

So far, the Gulf Cartel's dominance along Mexico's northeastern border has largely spared cities like Reynosa and Matamoros from the daily brutality suffered in places such as Ciudad Juarez - across the river from El Paso.

(MCALLEN MONITOR)

Dailey Drug Trafficking Organization Indicted

Columbus Ohio skyline



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This is a link between central Ohio and Arizona- so- Sinaloa Cartel? Sounds like a pretty sophisticated distribution operation- I like surveillance of law enforcement agents. Talk about turning the tables. Pataskala is just outside of Columbus. Interesting that they were only involved in the distribution of marijuana- you'd think there'd be some crystal meth or cocaine there.

A federal grand jury has returned a 31-count indictment charging 15 people with running a central Ohio marijuana-trafficking ring that grossed more than $10 million between March 2007 and March 2008.

The indictment alleges that the 15 defendants, led by Donald Gene Dailey Jr. of Pataskala, conspired to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana during the past eight years.

Dailey ran the ring from 2000 until 2008, federal investigators said. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

The indictment alleges that the ring tried to hide the operation using fraudulent identification, surveillance of law-enforcement officers and even polygraphs to ensure that co-conspirators weren't working with police or agents.

Money taken in by the ring was used to buy property and cars, including vehicles to transport the marijuana from Arizona to Ohio, federal investigators said.

The indictment seeks forfeiture of six houses, $4,284,007 in cash, 74 guns seized at Dailey's house, and 13 vehicles.

A federal grand jury indicted Dailey, his brother Timothy R. Dailey and Melvin Blevins in April, charging them with conspiracy, trafficking marijuana and ecstasy, and gun crimes. Blevins also was charged with distribution of drugs to a minor after a seized videotape showed him offering marijuana to a child.

(COLUMBUS DISPATCH)

Only Black Member of Mass. Senate Arrested for Corruption

Name this Boston landmark.

What's up with the feds targeting the only black member of the Massachusetts state senate for a corruption probe?

Massachusetts state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with accepting $23,500 in bribes from undercover agents she believed were local businessmen.

Wilkerson, the lone black member of the state Senate, was charged with attempted extortion as a public official and theft of honest services as a state senator. She faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count.

(BOSTON GLOBE)

Were they bribes or contributions? The whole "honest services" theory in public corruption prosecutions is kind of a bummer- aren't politicians SUPPOSED to raise money from local business people? Doesn't every politician make SOME kind of promise in exchange for the cash? I'm especially wary when they use undercover agents for this kind of case- do you expect the agent to come back and say "No- she's cool." No way. They're going to get their prosecution one way or another.

What the hell kind of gang is that?

This is from an article about a Riverside/San Bernardino area gang related murder- but check out this description of the "gang" involved:

He said Morgan, who is a member of an Inland-area gang known as the El Cerrito Boys, or ECB, sought help from Westly and Dugan, members of Friends Stand United, or FSU, a nationally affiliated gang into hard rock and casual fistfighting.

(CBS 2 LOS ANGELES)

Hard rock and casual fistfighting? What the hell? That doesn't sound like a gang- it sounds like a junior varsity football team. Oh- excuse me- they sound like straight edges:

Friends Stand United (FSU) or Forever Stand United was initially a crew of Boston hardcore fans that formed in the late 80's/ early 90's.

FSU has grown since then, with chapters in Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Upstate NY, and several other locations.

(URBAN DICTIONARY)

Lame.

Full Details on Cartel Drug Spy

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OK- So I've finally gotten to the bottom of the whole cartel drug spy story, courtesy of El Universal- la revista de mexico! and Google Translator. Take it away, El Universal:

Among the officials who were employed by the cartel of Beltran is the overall coordinator of technical OFDI, Colorado Miguel Gonzalez, and the deputy director general of Intelligence in the Technical Coordination of it, Fernando Rivera Hernandez.

Last Friday, a federal judge ordered the detention for extradition purposes of Miguel Colorado to the United States, whose government claimed after having accused it last Thursday before a federal court in the District of Columbia have taken advantage of his official position to support a cartel to produce and distribute cocaine.

Rivera Hernandez, who was in charge of coordinating the operations that carried the very PGR and the Secretariat of National Defense, was rooted on August 4, and Oct. 15 a federal judge gave him a detention order. Today is placed in a maximum security prison in Puente Grande, Jalisco, where he will continue his trial and where he is locked Alfredo Beltran Leyva, El Mochomo, one of the leaders of the cartel headed by his brother Arthur.

(EL UNIVERSAL)

Stripper Turns Down Free Cocaine!

Truly newsworthy:

A 19-year-old Cornelius man tried to pay for a lap dance at Tualatin’s Jiggles Tavern with a $20 bill and a baggy of cocaine, police say.

A Tualatin police report did not make clear whether the man’s offer was promptly rebuffed.

(PORTLAND TRIBUNE)

Well, he was arrested so I'm thinking the offer was rebuffed.

The Full "Mexican Drug Cartel Spy" Story

Mexican Attorney General, "We're on top of it, promise."

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Sinaloa Cartel Head Arrested... in Mexico(CAT DIRT SEZ)
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I posted this story earlier and mentioned that large chunks of the story had disappeared from the article I read. However, I just saw the original version posted at San Diego 10 TV:

A major drug cartel has infiltrated the Mexican attorney general's office, and one cartel worker says he even spied on DEA operations from inside the U.S. Embassy, Mexican prosecutors said Monday.

Five officials of the Attorney General's Organized Crime unit were arrested on allegations they served as informants for the Beltran-Leyva Cartel (Sinaloa Cartel).
Assistant Attorney General Marisela Morales said two top employees of her organized-crime unit and at least three federal police agents assigned to it may have been passing information on surveillance targets and potential raids for at least four years.

One of the officials was an assistant intelligence director and the other served as a liaison in requesting searches and assigning officers to carry them out.

All but one of the officials were arrested weeks ago.

The agents and officials each received payments of between $150,000 and $450,000 per month for the information, Morales said.

(CHANNEL 10 NEWS SAN DIEGO)

This does not give you much confidence in the Mexican Attorney General's Organized Crime Unit. I know United States Attorney's and U.S. DOJ employees read this site from looking through sitemeter- so I'd like to ask those readers a question, "What's your opinion about Mexican law enforcement at the Federal level? You have permission to be anonymous.

Operation Cross Country II- Better then the Original?

Federal and local authorities arrested 20 people in the Oklahoma City-area last week as part of a national effort to combat child trafficking for sex, according to an FBI news release.

Operation Cross Country II spanned 27 cities, the FBI said. In the metro area, authorities arrested 18 prostitutes, ages 19 to 42, and two pimps over a four-day period ending Saturday.

Nationally, the operation netted 642 arrests and 47 children were recovered.

(THE OKLAHOMAN)

And We Wonder Why Mexico Can't Stop the Drug Cartels...

Welcome to Mazatlan!

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Sinaloa Cartel Head Arrested... in Mexico(CAT DIRT SEZ)
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I read this story during court this morning and it had a ton more details- they mentioned that there were three people involved- two who worked at the Mexican Attorney General's office- and then when I went back to blog the story, all that was gone and this fairly innocuous article had replaced it:

A Mexican official says a drug spy is telling officials he infiltrated the U.S. Embassy and leaked DEA information to the Beltran-Leyva cartel.

The official says the man worked for Interpol at Mexico City's airport and at the U.S. Embassy and is now considered a protected witness. It is unclear if he is under Mexican or U.S. care.

(MIAMI HERALD)

The earlier version of the article said that Beltran-Leyva is a part of the larger Sinaloa Cartel. It also said that the Sinaloa Cartel obtained information about pending search warrants from a liason at the Mexican AG's office. I don't know what happened to all that additional detail from the initial story, but it's gone now.

Indian Biker Gang Leader Arrested

Every time I hear "Indian biker gang" I think-- on scooters?

One more member of the dreaded Bunty-led bikers' gang who is carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head has been arrested in the national capital, police said on Monday.

"We have arrested one more member of the Bunty gang identified as Om Shiva," a senior police official said.

The bikers' gang first hit the headlines when its members gunned down 25-year-old Sonu, a property dealer, outside his Sangam Vihar residence on July five.

The gang members were involved in 18 cases of murder, shooting, kidnapping, attempt to murder and robbery in Delhi and NCR region.

The Bunty gang was also involved in over a dozen robberies like at Sarita Vihar petrol Pump robbery, TV showroom in Kalkaji, Defence colony and Amdbedkarnagar in the national capital and NCR region.

(TIMES OF INDIA)

Africa Used for Meth Traffic by Mexican Cartels

African Port Security- Super tight.
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This is a tactic makes alot of sense to me since the interdiction efforts of the United States are almost 100% focused on border traffic between Mexico and the United States. Ask yourself how many cargo containers come in from places other then Latin American every day. It makes more sense for the cartels to ship the drugs to places like Asia and Africa and then ship them back to the U.S. through ports that are less high profile. This tactic is also an indication that border interdiction is becoming more effective, since you are obviously talking about higher transit costs when you send something to Africa/Asia just to ship it back to the U.S.

Stephen Brown of international police organization Interpol said that even as governments moved to tackle Colombian cocaine shipments to Europe through Africa's Atlantic coast, there was some evidence of the region also being used by Mexican drug cartels supplying methamphetamine to the U.S. market.

A seizure in Democratic Republic of Congo last year of several tonnes of pseudoephedrine, an ingredient of methamphetamine, indicated the Mexican drugs cartels could be using Africa's Atlantic seaboard for trans-shipment or storage purposes in their international operations, Brown said.

There had also been smaller seizures of pseudoephedrine being delivered from Belgium through Congo to Mexico.

(REUTERS AFRICA)

Seth Craven Trial Starts Today in San Diego

La Jolla Brew House

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I haven't spent too much time on this case because it's in my backyard & frankly- what is there to say? It's a terrible tragedy. I was dubious from the start about the use of the "gang enhancement" to make a stupid bar fight into a gang related crime, but the Judge agreed, so that issue is off the table. The stakes are high here- we're talking about the difference between murder and manslaughter. My sense is that the prosecutor's may have a tough road- the defense will argue it was all an accident, and in the absence of a lengthy criminal history, who's to say otherwise?

Basically, Craven is being singled out because he threw the punch that felled the victim in this case. There is no angle here- just the sadness of a stupid, stupid death.

Seth Cravens, 22, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Emery Kauanui, who was killed May 24, 2007.

The five men got into a fight with Kauanui following a drink-spilling incident at the nearby La Jolla Brew House. Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach maintains that Cravens encouraged House to fight the surfer, who either spilled or poured a drink on House at the bar.

During the fight, Cravens allegedly punched Kauanui, causing him to fall backward and hit his head.

(CHANNEL 10 SAN DIEGO)

Texas Syndicate Charges Detailed

Rio Grande River

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The take-down arrests earlier this week barely made a dent, but now there are more details on the indictment targeting the Texas Syndicate gang. According to the update:

The Texas Syndicate formed in the 1970s as a response by native Texas inmates to other prison gangs. It has since grown to become one of the dominant criminal organizations in the state, with strong membership in North Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.

(MCALLEN MONITOR)

The charges revolve around poly drug distribution, duh:

He and his co-defendants allegedly conspired to distribute hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana across North Texas, Dallas-based U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper said.

Hundreds of pounds. Is that all ya got?

Eduardo Arellano Felix Arrest Details

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Eduardo Arellano Felix, nicknamed "The Doctor," was a senior member of a family cartel embroiled in a violent struggle for control of the lucrative drug trade that has killed more than 3,700 people in Mexico this year, including 450 in Tijuana.

Police arrested Arellano Felix on Saturday after they chased his car to a three-story home in an upscale neighborhood, said the federal police in Tijuana. A three-hour gunbattle with more than 100 police and soldiers ensued, leaving the home riddled with bullet holes.

The Arellano Felix family dominated the smuggling of cocaine and marijuana into California in the 1990s and was feared for its ruthless elimination of enemies.

(REUTERS)

Eduardo Arellano's arrest follows that of his three brothers, Benjamin, Francisco Rafael and Francisco Javier, and the death of a fourth, Ramon, who was killed in a 2002 shootout with Mexican police in the state of Sinaloa.

Eduardo Arellano, nicknamed El Doctor, has been described as a reclusive former medical student in charge of overseeing the group's finances. With the removal of his brothers, he played an increasingly important role.

A nephew, Fernando Sanchez Arellano, has been said to be in charge of the group's day-to-day operations. But Sanchez has been challenged by a former crew leader, Eduardo Garcia Simental, known as El Teo, and their battle has claimed the lives of close to 150 people in Tijuana in the past month.

(SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE)

I Smuggle Aluminum Cans into Michigan

In some cases, smuggling rings have collected and crushed millions of cans in Ohio, selling them to several stores in southeast Michigan. When buyers don’t return the bottles to get their deposits back, states or distributors get to keep the money, and store owners pocketed more than $1.5 million by redeeming cans for which no deposit had ever been paid. Law enforcement broke up the rings last year, and a trial for 12 defendants is scheduled to start Monday. (CHICAGO SUN TIMES)

Eduardo Arellano Felix Arrested in Tijuana

Tijuana at Night

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Soldiers arrested a leader of the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix cartel after a shootout in a middle-class neighborhood of the border city across from San Diego, Mexico's Defense Department announced Sunday.

Eduardo Arellano Felix was captured Saturday night together with his daughter. The U.S. State Department once offered $5 million for his capture.

Mexican authorities say Arellano Felix and his sister Enedina Arellano Felix took over the drug clan's leadership after several of their brothers were arrested or killed.

(CHANNEL 10 NEWS SAN DIEGO)

Drug Dealers Turn to Pimping?

Boston Skyline

A federal crackdown on drug dealers has succeeded in taking some of Boston's most dangerous offenders off the streets, but it is also driving some dealers and gang leaders to pursue another line of criminal work: prostitution.

Law enforcement officials and victim advocates say girls as young as 14 have become a prized commodity for criminals who would rather exploit them than run the risk of serving a long federal sentence for dealing drugs.

Most of the city's fledgling pimps are men in their late 20s and early 30s who served time in prison for drugs, have recently been released, and have settled on a new source of illicit income, said Deputy Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald, head of the drug unit.

"They know we're looking hard at drug dealing," he said. "They're taking the path of least resistance when they go toward the girls."

(BOSTON GLOBE)

And good luck to you, kind gentlemen.