Authorities to announce details of major drug ring bust Mon.

Authorities to announce details of major drug ring bust tied to Mexican cartel Monday

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: October 30, 2011 - 4:45 pm
Last Updated: October 30, 2011 - 4:45 pm

Phoenix — Authorities say they'll announce details of what they're calling one of the biggest narcotics trafficking rings ever broken up in Arizona during a press briefing on Monday.

The 17-month investigation by local, state and federal officials led to a series of raids in the Phoenix area and Pinal County on Thursday.

Officials say the drug ring is linked to Mexico's notorious Sinaloa drug cartel and smuggled millions of dollars in drugs each month through Arizona.

Thursday's raids involved the same ring as two other previous busts, including one where 17 suspected drug smugglers were arrested and 935 pounds of marijuana was seized.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Arizona Attorney General's Office and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office plan a press conference to provide more details on Monday morning in Phoenix.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/f ... Ring-Bust/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Officials say the drug ring is linked to Mexico's notorious Sinaloa drug cartel and smuggled millions of dollars in drugs each month through Arizona.

Thursday's raids involved the same ring as two other previous busts, including one where 17 suspected drug smugglers were arrested and 935 pounds of marijuana was seized.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Arizona Attorney General's Office and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office plan a press conference to provide more details on Monday morning in Phoenix.

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A major drug ring bust? 935 pounds of marijuana? That all you got?

And how many tons of coke, meth, heroin, Ecstasy, and illicit Oxycodone - along with weed - got through undetected?

I'm really impressed... (underimpressed). Be on notice that it's not the fault of BP agents on the border that they don't catch more drug and human traffickers.

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Officials arrest 70 in major Arizona drug bust

Reuters
7:17 p.m. CDT, October 30, 2011

(Reuters) - Law enforcement officials in Arizona seized thousands of pounds of narcotics and arrested at least 70 suspected drug smugglers with apparent ties to a violent drug cartel in Mexico, an official involved with the investigation in the U.S. Southwest told Reuters on Sunday.

The operation, which included three raids conducted jointly by local, state, and federal officials over 17 months, led to the arrests of Mexican and American nationals working with the notorious drug cartel based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities confiscated drugs, money, weapons, ammunition, and bullet-proof vests, cracking a "sophisticated network" of international drug smuggling in one of the largest such operations conducted in the Southwestern United States, the official said.

Drugs were smuggled from Mexico into Arizona by car, plane, on foot, and through tunnels.

"This is one of the more substantial drug-smuggling operations going on right now. This is a billion-dollar drug trade organization linked to the cartel," the official said.

The cartel is headquartered in the northwestern state of Sinaloa on Mexico's Pacific coast, an area home to big marijuana and opium poppy plantations and considered the cradle of Mexican narcotics trafficking since the 1960s.

The cartel is believed to handle 65 percent of all drugs illegally transported to the United States, drug experts say.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in drug-related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched his military campaign against the cartels after he took office in late 2006.

Further details of the operation will be released at a press conference at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration field office in Phoenix on Monday. The raids were overseen by the DEA, Arizona state officials, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The official said the operation will shed light on elaborate drug smuggling into the United States and said the contraband confiscated in the raids was "jaw-dropping."

Officials captured some of the key players in the smuggling operation, the source said, adding that the suspects will be prosecuted at the state level.

The official said law enforcement officials are still looking for dozens of people in connection with the operation.

http://www.whnt.com/sns-rt-us-usa-drugs ... 2891.story

70 members of 'billion-dollar' drug gang arrested, official says

'Jaw-dropping' amount of contraband seized; alleged drug smugglers thought to have close ties to violent Mexican cartel

updated 10/31/2011 6:52:57 AM ET

Law enforcement officials in Arizona seized thousands of pounds of narcotics and arrested at least 70 suspected drug smugglers with apparent ties to a violent drug cartel in Mexico, an official involved with the investigation in the U.S. Southwest told Reuters.

The operation, which included three raids conducted jointly by local, state, and federal officials over 17 months, led to the arrests of Mexican and American nationals working with a notorious drug cartel based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Further details of the operation will be released at a press conference at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration field office in Phoenix on Monday.

Authorities confiscated drugs, money, weapons, ammunition, and bullet-proof vests, cracking a "sophisticated network" of international drug smuggling in one of the largest such operations conducted in the Southwestern United States, the official said on Sunday.

Drugs were smuggled from Mexico into Arizona by car, plane, on foot, and through tunnels.

"This is one of the more substantial drug-smuggling operations going on right now. This is a billion-dollar drug trade organization linked to the cartel," the official said.

The cartel is headquartered in the northwestern state of Sinaloa on Mexico's Pacific coast, an area home to big marijuana and opium poppy plantations and considered the cradle of Mexican narcotics trafficking since the 1960s.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45100583/ ... nd_courts/

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