Thread: Portland cops bust Mexican drug ring operating in Old Town

Portland cops bust Mexican drug ring operating in Old Town, Northwest
by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
Thursday February 19, 2009, 1:38 PM

Portland narcotics investigators say they've disrupted a Mexican drug ring that was operating in Woodburn and sending drug runners to Northwest Portland and Old Town to sell heroin and cocaine.

Complaints from Central Precinct officers about the drug activity led to the four-month Drugs and Vice Division investigation. On Wednesday, officers seized three pounds of heroin and two pounds of cocaine, and made eight arrests after raiding three homes and a storage facility in the Woodburn and Clackamas areas.


"We have all kind of information out there, reporting to us that they're getting calls from uptight heroin junkies. From that perspective, we've made a dent in the trade," said Drugs and Vice Division Capt. Mark Kruger.

But Kruger said he recognizes that others will fill the void if police don't keep attention on the area. "It will make a dent temporarily."

Police arrested Jose Sandodal-Gonzalez, 32, on numerous drug charges in Woodburn and identified him as the main supplier. Seven others arrested were described as his "runners," meaning they'd carry the drug to Portland after a user phoned them to arrange a buy.

Remarkably, the drug dealers seemed to keep "banker's hours," Kruger said, adding that they typically started business around 8 a.m., and continued until late in the afternoon before halting until the next day.

"This particular group is more call-up and deliver," Kruger said. "We call it the pizza delivery mode. The drug user calls up the source, and the runner comes and delivers the drugs."

-- Maxine Bernstein; maxinebernstein@news.oregonian.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/inde ... n_dru.html

It just amazes me when I hear of what has happen to Oregon

Sosad, not me. I know this area of Portland, my husband and I used to work down there for The Salvation Army, it is a really bad place.

We live out in the suburbs, right near the very end of town, and we see stuff like this going on as well. They can hide REAL good out here. Police have busted so many drug houses out here.

Pretty much all of Portland and all metro suburbs have been affected by the drug trades and illegal immigration. ESPECIALLY Woodburn, it is so bad and filled with illegals down there, you'd think you stepped into another country.

Two pounds of heroin and three of cocaine? I wonder why the news even bothers to report it.

How about going to Texas for some real action, like the 312 pounds of meth they seized a couple weeks ago?