• Armed Mexican meth traffickers arrested in Florida received welfare and Medicaid

    ...many of those arrested were receiving some type of government welfare assistance, either in the form of an EBT card or benefits from Medicaid, which supplemented the income reaped from the drug smuggling enterprise.

    Image Source: Polk County Sheriff’s Office


    On March 19, 2014, Polk County, Florida Sheriff’s officials announced the arrest of 13 persons associated with methamphetamine drug trafficking criminal enterprise that exploited America’s porous Mexican border. According to Donna Wood, the Public Information Officer for the Polk County Sheriff’s office, 11 of those arrested were illegal aliens from Mexico. In addition, officers seized 44 pounds of methamphetamine, about 100 firearms, including rifles, shotguns and handguns, over one thousand rounds of ammunition, and 5 bulletproof vests. Law enforcement officials tied the operation to the border city of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico and the more centrally located state of Guerrero, Mexico. Officials also issued warrants for 12 other suspects charged in connection with the smuggling network.

    March 21, 2014
    Steve McDonald
    examiner.com

    Ms. Wood also noted that many of those arrested were receiving some type of government welfare assistance, either in the form of an EBT card or benefits from Medicaid, which supplemented the income reaped from the drug smuggling enterprise. This included one of the leaders of the organization in Florida, Maria Concepcion Lopez. Officials deported Ms. Lopez after she served a 3-year sentence for drug trafficking. Barred from returning to the U.S. for life and in spite of the possibility of facing several years in prison for doing so., Ms. Lopez crossed back into the U.S. illegally and was a key manager of the drug ring’s Florida operations, which governed the distribution of methamphetamine to several central Florida counties.

    Others arrested include Jose Luis Rios, Luis Villafuerte-Rojas, Joel Tapia, Debra Tapia, Tara Tapia, Maria Lopez-Ontiveros, Dioscelina Galarza-Osorio, Alfredo Ortiz-Hernandez, Maria Widdows, Joseph Workman, Joseph Angelo Rinaldi, and Eugenia Lopez.

    Officials stated it was too soon in the investigation to determine if any of the weapons seized were associated with the 2009-2011 Fast and Furious operation, which facilitated the purchase of assault-style weapons by Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

    Agencies involved in this investigation included the Polk County HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Task Force, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office, DEA, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Armed Mexican meth traffickers arrested in Florida received welfare and Medicaid started by Jean View original post