Thread: Drug probe shuts down Rocky Point shuttle service

Published: 08.08.2007

Drug probe shuts down Rocky Point shuttle service
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A popular shuttle service that takes Arizona vacationers to the Mexican resort town of Puerto Peñasco is shut down after its owners were indicted in a drug smuggling case. Federal agents raided the bus stand of Mota's Place Shuttle last week in the border town of Lukeville and arrest warrants were issued for the company's owners.
A grand jury in Phoenix indicted 47 people last week on drug-smuggling related charges, including conspiracy, racketeering, and conducting narcotics transactions on the telephone.
Among those indicted were Gustavo Mota Sr., Gustavo Mota Jr. and Christian Enrique Mota. They've been the registered owners of the shuttle company since 1991.
Phone calls to the company's Phoenix office were not returned.
The shuttle service runs vans between Phoenix and Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point, on the sea of Cortez, charging $40 per round trip.
A luxury van service also take travelers to Rocky Point but is much more expensive.
Phoenix police are heading up the investigation, along with federal agencies. Police declined to elaborate on the case, calling it ongoing.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/195488

Oh, dear, just think what can be done with a superhighway and all those Mexican trucks.

MOTA'S SHUTTLE? ISN'T "MOTA" SLANG FOR POT? I AM PRETTY SURE IT IS. HAVE HEARD IT MANY TIMES FROM SHOPPING FOR VEGGIES IN THE MARKET IN THE HISPANIC NEIGHBORHOOD IN SAN FRANCISCO. THEY WALK AROUND WHISPERING TO PEOPLE WALKING BUY "MOTA". THATS FUNNY

No one should be going to Mexico anyway. Why give them your money twice.

OK I FOUND IT. YES I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mota

mota weed marijuana bud dank pot ganja chronic herb grass green sticky icky yesca bong dope herbalics mary jane reefer smoking


http://www.gangsorus.com/lettersn.html

Also lists “motaâ€

August 10, 2007
Indictments target shuttle service from Phoenix to Mexico
From Staff Reports
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced indictments Friday against 47 defendants accused of money laundering through a shuttle van service from Phoenix to Mexico.

Among the 15 defendants in custody, all but three are U.S. citizens or legal residents. The suspects include at least one father and son.

A state grand jury returned a 115-count indictment in the case with charges including conspiracy, illegally conducting an enterprise, money laundering, weapons possession and possession for sale of marijuana and meth.

A news release from the attorney general’s office said the charges are the result of a six-month Phoenix police investigation into a shuttle van service to Sonoyta, Caborca and Puerto Penasco, Mexico. According to investigators, drug dealers would drop off cash to the shuttle van service, and drivers would strap the money to their bodies and take the money across the border.

Attorney General spokeswoman Andrea Esquer said in the news release that 40 search warrants were executed in the case that turned up about 7,000 pounds of marijuana, 55 pounds of meth, $1.4 million in cash, 26 vehicles and an array of guns.

The following defendants are in custody:

-- Jorge G. Barraza, 47, of Caborca, Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and three counts of money laundering.

-- Blanca Castillo, 23, of Phoenix, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and six counts of money laundering.

-- Blanca Coronado, 48, of Phoenix, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and 44 counts of money laundering.

-- Hector Manuel Ferrer-Payan, 26, of Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise, transportation for sale or transfer of methamphetamine and misconduct involving weapons. Ferrer-Payan is an undocumented immigrant and is being held without bond.

-- Veronica Gutierrez, 37, of Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and 13 counts of money laundering. Gutierrez is an undocumented immigrant and is being held without bond.

-- Mario Francisco Hocker, 35, of Phoenix, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and 19 counts of money laundering.

-- Armida Madera, 53, of Sonoyta, Mexico was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and five counts of money laundering.

-- Christian Enrique Mota, 24, of Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and two counts of money laundering.

-- Gustavo Mota, Jr., 27, of Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise, six counts of money laundering and three counts of use of wire communication in drug-related transaction.

-- Gustavo Mota, Sr., 48, of Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and six counts of use of wire communication in drug-related transaction.

-- Lamberto Quintero-Pacheco, 19, of Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise, possession for sale of methamphetamine, transportation for sale or transfer of methamphetamine and misconduct involving weapons. Quintero-Pacheco is an undocumented immigrant and is being held without bond.

-- Luis Antonio Uranga Carmona, 33, of Phoenix, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and seven counts of money laundering.

-- Miriam Carmona Sanchez Uranga, 42, of Phoenix, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and six counts of money laundering.

-- Jorge Velasquez Felix, 51, of Mexico, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and five counts of money laundering.

-- Jose Guadalupe Villasenor, 44, of Lukeville, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of illegally conducting an enterprise and four counts of money laundering.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/94904

Thursday, February 14, 2008 - 2:00 PM MST
Arizona-Mexico shuttle service manager sentenced in smuggling operation

The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Mike Sunnucks Phoenix Business Journal
The manager of a shuttle service between Phoenix and Rocky Point, Mexico, that doubled as a transport system for the illegal drug trade has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

Blanca Coronado, 49, pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court.

The Phoenix resident managed Mota's Shuttle, which prosecutors say ferried drug money from Phoenix to Mexico.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said Wednesday that Coronado was one of the people responsible for running $2 million a month across the border. She was one of 47 defendants indicted last August, according to Goddard's office.

Arizona is a prime entry point into the U.S. for drug cartels and other smuggling operations from Mexico.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stor ... ily39.html