Thread: Drugs, guns, cash seized in Astoria

3/22/2007 3:15:00 PM

ALEX PAJUNAS — The Daily Astorian
Nearly two pounds of meth and about an ounce of rock cocaine – a total street value of $44,000 – were seized during a drug raid in Astoria Thursday .

Drugs, guns, cash seized in Astoria
Law enforcement agencies unite to bust suspected dealers; Investigation reels in seven suspects at three Astoria apartments

The Daily Astorian

Warrenton K-9 officer Ruff's tail was wagging Thursday.

His handler and a cadre of law enforcement officers were in a mood to celebrate too.

The 3-year-old German Shepherd, with handler, Ray Ayers, a Warrenton police officer, sniffed out drugs and money in one of the largest raids in recent years on the North Coast.

A five-month investigation led to raids on three apartment units in Astoria Thursday. It netted nearly two pounds of meth and rock cocaine, valued on the street at $44,000.

Officers arrested seven Mexican nationals, four men and three women, one of whom may be pregnant, and seized $16,800 cash and 10 guns, including an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

Police and deputies in five counties who worked on the case say the raid broke into a major drug distribution ring from Mexico supplying northwest Oregon and southwest Washington from Astoria.

"This is not little user quantities. This is substantial amounts that puts a big dent in the drug trade," said Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin.

Arrested and lodged in the Clatsop County Jail were:

• Daniel Leon-Medina, 43, possession and delivery of controlled substances;

• Maria del Carmen Bahan Carballo, 26, possession and delivery of controlled substances;

• Guadalupe Hernandez Carballo, 29, possession and delivery of controlled substances;

• Juan Gabriel Baizabal Cajina, 30, possession and delivery of controlled substances;

• Noe Hernandez-Carballo, 27, fugitive warrant issued by Pacific County, Wash., for possession of a controlled substance;

• Mariano Ramirez Zurita, 30, identity theft and fugitive warrant from Pacific County for delivery of a controlled substance;

• Marcela Baizabal Rodrigues, 30, second-degree possession of a forged instrument.

Bergin attributed the success of the investigation

to the cooperation of police agencies in Columbia and Clatsop counties in Oregon and Washington's Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and Pacific counties. The investigation started in October with information developed by the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office and turned over to Pacific and Clatsop counties.

Clatsop County Inter-agency Narcotics Team and Pacific County Narcotics Enforcement Team worked to track the trafficking. The suspects live in Astoria and sold drugs to police in Pacific County through controlled buys. With the evidence from the joint investigation, police obtained search warrants for three residences - two apartments at 1005 Exchange St. and one at 411 Bond St. - and for four vehicles.

Sixteen officers from the Clatsop Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police and Astoria, Warrenton and Seaside police departments raided the three apartments shortly after 7 a.m. The drugs, money and guns were found inside.

Police also seized three vehicles. Authorities believe most of the guns, which were new, were headed to Mexico, as was the money.

The drugs, mostly meth, were packaged and ready for delivery. The cocaine was wrapped in pieces that sold for $100 each. The meth was divided into cellophane-wrapped balls in sizes from a quarter-ounce at $240 to a full ounce sold for $1,000.

Other items were also recovered.

"When you have meth, you have stolen property. A lot of jewelry was found in the apartments," said Sgt. Bob Hahn, supervisor of the county's drug task force.

"A group of people in this community were working together between here and Pacific County, running this whole region with drugs. We were able to work with Pacific County hand-in-hand. Sheriff (John) Didion is just incredible. In January we arrested and deported a very important player."

Bergin said it took five months to put the case together because it must be done very carefully or it won't stand up in court. That's why it's imperative that all local law enforcement agencies participate in the task force, he said, which is currently not the case.

Bergin said the suspects may have chosen to operate out of Astoria because they thought there would not be a lot of pressure on them. He said it's harder to work drug cases in a small town sometimes than in a large city.

"Let's face it, everybody knows everybody around here," Bergin said.

Bergin said the laws need to be changed to put stiffer penalties in place and public attitudes also need to be stiffened. Although most people are against drugs, they're not interested in doing anything about it until it affects them personally, he said.

Neighbors expressed surprise at the drug trafficking that had been occurring just next door, Bergin said. As officers sorted the evidence later at the sheriff's office, cell phones confiscated from the suspects were ringing with calls from their contacts. Some of the suspects had distributed drugs to homes in Columbia, Clatsop and Pacific counties.

"The narcotics trade is a well-organized industry sapping thousands of dollars out of the United States and into the hands of Mexican drug lords," Bergin said.

As for four-legged officer Ruff, it was just another successful day at the office.

"He gets them in all the nooks and crannies of an apartment or car," Warrenton Chief Bob Maxfield said today.


http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?S ... M=67402.47

"The narcotics trade is a well-organized industry sapping thousands of dollars out of the United States and into the hands of Mexican drug lords," Bergin said.

Its economic development for Mexico. It's "free trade" condoned by the Bush Administration.