ALLEGED "KINGPINS" CHARGED RELATED TO IMPORT OF 1,000 KILOGRAMS OF HEROIN FROM MEXICO

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Alleged Drug Kingpins Charged with Multi-State Operation That Imported 1,000 Kilograms of Heroin from Mexico into the United States

A 108-count superseding indictment unsealed today charges 37 people (see chart) as participants in a multi-state heroin trafficking organization with ties to Mexico.  The charges, which include conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to commit money laundering, 62 counts of money laundering and 43 substantive drug charges, were announced by U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Tuggle for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Members of the Laredo Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) are charged with the distribution and attempted distribution of multi-kilogram quantities of heroin in Philadelphia. According to the indictment, since 2008, the Laredo DTO has manufactured and imported heroin from its operation in Mexico and supplied other DTOs in Philadelphia, Chicago Camden, New Jersey,  and elsewhere.

Brothers Antonio and Ismael Laredo, the alleged leaders of the Laredo DTO, are charged with engagement in a continuing criminal enterprise.  They allegedly supervised 21 defendants who are charged with participation in a conspiracy to import heroin from Mexico into the United States and conspiracy to distribute kilogram quantities of heroin manufactured in and smuggled from Mexico into the United States.  According to the superseding indictment, the Laredo DTO smuggled-in from Mexico approximately 1,000 kilograms of heroin using various concealment techniques including placing kilogram quantities of heroin in car batteries, car bumpers, concealed vehicle traps and sealed fruit and vegetable cans.  Antonio and Ismael Laredo allegedly recruited and hired couriers in the United States to transport and deliver multi-kilogram shipments of heroin, originating in Mexico, to heroin distributors affiliated with the Laredo DTO located in Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York, New York.  Defendant Antonio Marcelo Barragan allegedly served as a Mexican-based supplier of raw opium.  Defendant Alejandro Sotelo allegedly served as a stash house operator and distributor of the DTO’s product in Chicago, where he arranged trans-shipment of multi-kilogram quantities of heroin to Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.

It is further alleged that the Laredo DTO supplied street level heroin bagging and packaging operations in Philadelphia; that heroin, in quantities ranging from 15 to 50 kilograms at a time was regularly moved between the Chicago, operation and the Philadelphia operation; and that members of the DTO, including the Laredo brothers, used violence, such as assaults and kidnapping, threats of violence, including murder and arson and firearms to protect the DTO’s product and proceeds and to prevent members from withdrawing from the organization.  The indictment alleges that the Laredo DTO supplied multi-kilogram quantities of heroin to other drug traffickers in the Philadelphia area, including the (Christian) Serrano DTO, charged elsewhere, the (Darbin and Gabriel) Vargas DTO and the Camden, New Jersey, based (Confesor) Montalvo organization, among others.

According to the indictment, members of the Laredo DTO would transport heroin shipments by various means, including car and train.  In 2012, a courier concealed three kilograms of heroin inside a car battery for transport from Mexico to Philadelphia; another shipment of four kilograms was concealed inside a car speaker box; a shipment of 7.6 kilograms of heroin was concealed in sealed fruit and vegetable cans in Texas and the couriers were directed to deliver the heroin to defendants Darbin Vargas and Gabriel Vargas, of the Vargas DTO in Philadelphia, in September 2012.  The indictment alleges that the Laredo brothers arranged for the manufacture and production of car batteries in Mexico containing concealed compartments to hold multiple kilograms of heroin which were then used to surreptitiously import heroin into the United States.

The indictment further alleges that the Laredo brothers had numerous relatives and associates set up “funnel accounts” that were used for the purpose of laundering the proceeds of the drug operation back to Mexico.  According to the indictment, using a variety of money laundering techniques, including the use of the funnel accounts, wire transfers of funds and Western Union money grams, the DTO was able to launder at least $5 million of its heroin proceeds back to Mexico, where the Laredo brothers resided.  It was further a part of the conspiracy that the Laredo brothers directed defendant Osmar Flores, doing business as Tri-Country Auto Sales Inc. in Rockford, Illinois, to collect and deposit large sums of cash representing proceeds of the Laredo DTO's heroin trafficking sales in the U.S. to the business bank account of Tri Country Auto Sales Inc.  Portions of those funds were allegedly used to purchase multiple vehicles used to transport heroin from Mexico and bulk U.S. currency from the United States to Mexico, in concealed compartments.  In addition, defendant Osmar Flores transmitted proceeds of the heroin operation back to the Laredos, both by wire transfers and bulk transfers of cash.

“This indictment and the arrests this morning are a significant victory in our efforts to combat drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Memeger.  “Because of the persistent and collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies across the country, a major supplier of heroin to the Philadelphia region is out of business.”

“Heroin is the top enforcement priority of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Tuggle.  “Dismantling this extremely violent international drug trafficking organization ended the flow of hundreds of kilograms of Mexican based heroin into the Philadelphia region and is a direct result of DEA’s resolve to make our communities safer.  This was a cooperative effort with local, state and federal agencies.  The flow of Mexican produced heroin into southeast Pennsylvania has been significantly impacted.”

If convicted, the Laredo brothers each face a mandatory sentence of life in prison, tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, as well as a criminal forfeiture judgment to the United States of up to $60 million; most of the remaining drug trafficking defendants face mandatory minimum sentences of at least 10 years in prison (see attached chart).

The case was investigated by the  DEA’s offices in Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey, Mexico City, Mexico, Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, Newark, New Jersey, New York, New York, Tyler, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina, Jefferson City and St. Louis, Missouri, Richmond, Virginia, and the DEA Special Operations Division; FBI in Philadelphia; U.S. Marshal Service; Homeland Security Investigations in Philadelphia and Richmond, Virginia; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Philadelphia Police Department; Darby Borough Police Department; SEPTA Transit Police Department; Berks County District Attorney’s Office; Bucks County District Attorney’s Office in New Jersey; the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Parole Board, Cherry Hill Police Department, Delaware River Port Authority Police, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Sherriff’s Office; in Illinois: Rockford Police Department, Will County Sheriff's Department, Skokie Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Oak Lawn Police Department, Addison Police Department, Prospect Heights Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Arlington Heights Police Department, West Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Department and McHenry County Narcotics Task Force; in Texas: Texas Department of Safety, CID Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Pleasant Police Department; in Missouri: Missouri State Highway Patrol, Audrain County Sheriff’s Department, East Central Drug Task Force; in Virginia: the Mecklenberg County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and the Virginia State Police; and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.  Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Northern District of Illinois and the Eastern District of Virginia.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. Labrum III.

ALLEGED DRUG TRAFFICKING LEADER EXTRADITED FROM GUATEMALA

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, May 1, 2015
Alleged Leader of the Lorenzana Drug Trafficking Organization Extradited to the United States

An alleged leader of an international drug trafficking organization based in Guatemala was extradited to the United States yesterday to face international narcotics trafficking charges in the District of Columbia, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Eliu Elixander Lorenzana-Cordon, 43, was arrested in Guatemala on Nov. 8, 2011, after being indicted for conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, and has been detained since that time pending extradition.  He arrived in the United States yesterday and was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay of the District of Columbia.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, Lorenzana-Cordon is a leader of an international drug trafficking organization that includes his father and several other family members.  Between 1996 and 2012, the organization allegedly received and stored multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Colombia for later importation into Mexico and the United States.

These cocaine shipments, worth millions of dollars, were allegedly transported to El Salvador on “go-fast” boats, and then smuggled into Guatemala by land and air.  The cocaine was then inventoried and stored for later export to Mexico and eventually the United States.

On April 27, 2010, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control designated Lorenzana-Cordon as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act due to his significant role in international narcotics trafficking and his ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Lorenzana-Cordon’s brother, Waldemar Lorenzana-Cordon, was extradited to the United States on Nov. 13, 2014, and is currently awaiting trial.  Lorenzana-Cordon’s father, Waldemar Lorenzana-Lima, pleaded guilty on Aug. 18, 2014, to conspiracy to import over 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States, and is currently awaiting sentencing.  All three defendants were charged in the same indictment.

The investigation was led by the DEA’s 959/Bilateral Investigations Unit and Guatemala City Country Office, and was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in the extradition.  The department appreciates the assistance provided by the government of Guatemala.

36 ARYAN BROTHERHOOD OF TEXAS MEMBERS, ASSOCIATES PLEAD GUILTY TO FEDERAL RACKETEERING CHARGES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

All 36 Charged Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Members and Associates Have Pleaded Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges in Southern District of Texas

73 Convicted Across Five Federal Districts, Including All Five Active ABT Generals, Effectively Dismantling Organization

The remaining two defendants of 36 accused in the Southern District of Texas of racketeering activities as part of their roles with the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have pleaded guilty, capping a six-year sweeping effort that has led to 73 convictions across five federal districts and the decimation of the gang’s leadership and violent members and associates.   Those convicted were charged with involvement in a criminal organization that engaged in murders, kidnappings, brutal beatings, fire bombings and drug trafficking.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Robert W. Elder of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)’s Houston Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Division and Special Agent in Charge David M. Marwell of the Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Division made the announcement.

“The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas launched its murderous and racist ideology within the Texas prisons, but unleashed a violent crime wave that jumped the prison walls and spread like a virus,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Today we are announcing sweeping convictions that strike at the heart of the ABT gang: 73 convictions in five federal districts, including the five active generals who ran the organization with an iron fist.   These convictions will ensure that these ABT gang members, from generals to soldiers, spend their years in federal prison paying for their crimes, not committing new ones.”

“Today, public safety is the winner,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson.   “A significant blow to the ABT criminal activities culminated today with the convictions of all 36 as charged in relation to this significant racketeering activity. Only with a coordinated federal, state and local law enforcement effort, could these criminals’ extensive and heinous gang activities be brought before the bar of justice.”

Rusty Eugene Duke of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.   Tammy Melissa Wall of Otto, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Aug. 6, 2014.   Duke and Wall are two of 36 defendants charged in the Southern District of Texas with conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise, among other charges.   With Duke’s plea today, all 36 defendants have pleaded guilty.

The 36 convicted are part of a larger, six-year effort that has led to the conviction of 73 ABT members and associates in cases brought in the Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas and Western District of Oklahoma.

“Today marks a great day for the citizens of Texas,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Elder.   “As they go about their daily lives, they can rest easier knowing that law enforcement across the state is working tirelessly to keep them safe from violent criminals. Finally, this investigation is a great example of ATF’s Frontline Model, which seeks to go after the very worst offenders by maximizing all of our resources.”

“While these convictions have dealt a serious blow to the gang, there are always others waiting to take their place in the organization,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Turner.   “We have a message for them too: Violence and intimidation will not rule the streets of Houston. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue gang leaders and their associates at every level to ensure the safety of our communities.”

Court records and admissions by the defendants have exposed the ABT as a race-based, Texas state-wide organization operating inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and the United States.   Established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system, the gang modeled itself after, and adopted many of the precepts and writings of, the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang formed in the California prison system during the 1960s.   The ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and the promotion of whites as a superior race.   The ABT used murder and the threat of murder to enforce its rules within the gang and maintain a position of power inside and outside of prison.   Over time, the ABT expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.   Once released from prison, ABT members and associates continued to engage in criminal activity on behalf of the enterprise.

Court documents portray the ABT as a highly structured organization run by five generals, each of whom oversees one of five geographic regions of Texas and sits on a steering committee.   Each general supervises two chains of command —one on the “inside” and one on the “outside” of prison.   Reporting to each general is an “inside major” and an “outside major” and each major oversees several captains, lieutenants and sergeants-at-arms and numerous soldiers.

In this prosecution, all five active ABT generals have been convicted, as well as one “acting” general and one former general and founding member.   In addition, the majors, captains and other leaders of the gang from each of the five regions – including Duke – were convicted.

ABT enforced its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violated ABT rules or posed a threat to the enterprise.   Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, referred to as “direct orders.”   For example, according to court records, ABT leaders ordered a subordinate to kill a rogue ABT prospect and return the victim’s severed finger as a trophy, engaged in planning to kill a police officer, and ordered the murder of an individual whom the ABT believed had stolen drugs from the enterprise.

Duke, Wall and numerous ABT gang members met on a regular basis at various locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members, among other things.   While females are not allowed to become members of the ABT, Wall and other women convicted in this case associated with the ABT, served as communication hubs for the gang, and engaged in criminal activity for the benefit of the ABT.

By pleading guilty to racketeering charges, Duke and Wall admitted to being members of the ABT criminal enterprise.   They are both scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29, 2014.

This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Atascosa County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Orange County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Waller County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Alvin, Texas, Police Department; Carrollton, Texas, Police Department; Mesquite, Texas, Police Department; Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office; and the Atascosa County District Attorney’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by David Karpel of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Ed Gallagher and Tim Braley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BROWNFIELD'S CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY ON NARCOTICS AND U.S.-MEXICO RELATIONS

FROM:  THE STATE DEPARTMENT 

The Future of U.S.-Mexico Relations

Testimony

William R. Brownfield

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Statement Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Washington, DC

May 20, 2014

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Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today to discuss our important partnership with the Government of Mexico. Through this unprecedented partnership forged between our two governments over the past seven years, great progress has been made in strengthening the capacity of Mexico’s justice sector to counter organized crime and protect our shared border. And working in partnership with the Peña Nieto administration, we are continuing our strong collaborative efforts with the Government of Mexico to advance our shared citizen security objectives.
In 2008, at the start of the Merida Initiative, drug cartel-related violence in Mexico had been increasing dramatically, corruption was a threat to rule of law, and Mexican institutions were not able to deal effectively with the impunity of these powerful criminal networks. The people of Mexico had little confidence in their institutions, and the unmitigated flow of illicit money and narcotics clouded the prospects of Mexico’s licit economy. In 2008, Mexico took the important first step of passing constitutional reforms to overhaul its entire justice sector including the police, judicial system, and corrections at the federal, state and local levels. Mexico’s institutional reforms and its objective of building strong institutions that its citizens can depend on to deliver justice provided a foundation for U.S. cooperation.

Since 2008, our assistance under the Merida Initiative has helped advance Mexico’s implementation of these reforms. To date, the U.S. government has delivered approximately $1.2 billion worth of training, capacity building, and equipment. By no means do we go it alone: the Government of Mexico has contributed billions of its own resources, outpacing our own, to our shared security goals. And because our assistance is designed jointly with the Government of Mexico, many programs form integral parts of Mexico’s justice sector reforms and enjoy a high level of sustainability.

Our partnership with Mexico has demonstrated results, through it we have: helped advance the transition to the accusatory justice system through the training of over 8,500 federal justice sector personnel; augmented the professionalization of police units by providing training to more than 22,000 federal and state police officers, 4,000 of which are federal investigators; improved the capacity and security of its federal prisons, supporting the expansion of secure federal facilities from five with a capacity of 3,500 to 14 with a capacity of 20,000; provided civic education and ethics training to more than 700,000 Mexican students; and improved the detection of narcotics, arms, and money at the border, reaching nearly $3.8 billion in illicit goods seized. In addition, since 2009, Mexico has apprehended more than 70 senior and mid-level drug trafficking organization (DTO) leaders, notably Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, significantly disrupting all major Mexican DTOs. These are noteworthy outputs that, with continued collaboration and political commitment, will help enhance security for citizens on both sides of the border.

The Initiative continues to be structured around the four pillar framework: 1) Disrupting the operational capacity of organized crime; 2) Institutionalizing Mexico’s capacity to sustain the rule of law and protect human rights; 3) Creating a 21^st century border; and 4) Building strong and resilient communities. This framework, combined with the shift toward training and an emphasis on building capacity at the state and local level, is the basis for our security cooperation with the Peña Nieto Administration going forward.

When President Peña Nieto took office in December 2012, he and his Administration took a close and deliberate look at the U.S.-Mexico bilateral relationship, including our security cooperation. After a careful review, the Government of Mexico has committed to continuing our collaboration on security issues under the four-pillar Merida framework, with a sharper focus on crime prevention and rule of law. The Peña Nieto Administration has laid out its long-term plans for improving citizen security through its ten-point security strategy that includes crime prevention and effective criminal justice, police professionalization, transforming the prison system, promoting citizen participation and international coordination on security, transparent statistics on crime rates, coordination among government authorities and regionalization to focus efforts, and strengthening of intelligence to combat crime. These elements track well with the planning and direction of the work that I manage, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) programming, which aims to help build professionalized and credible civilian security.

In recent months, we have reached agreement with the Government of Mexico on areas of programmatic focus for our security cooperation under Merida. We have launched a robust process for getting security assistance programs green lighted that consists of joint executive level meetings between INL Mexico and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) and the Ministry of Government (SEGOB). Since November 2013, 78 projects, totaling more than $430 million have been approved through this process. These projects span all four pillars of Merida with a focus on bilateral priority areas – assistance to the states in law enforcement capacity building, support to the Government of Mexico’s efforts on its southern border strategy, and justice sector reform.

In seeking to further justice sector reform, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has demonstrated commitment to advancing the transition to the accusatory justice system and recently agreed to several programs supporting this transition at the federal and state level. We will continue building the skills of prosecutors, investigators, and experts, enhancing the technical capacity of courtrooms throughout the country to handle oral trials, and helping to train law school students in crucial oral trial skills. Additionally we are working with the PGR’s criminal investigation arm, akin to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, to enhance its human and technological capacity to pursue complex investigations.

To help Mexico build policing capacity for its communities, we are putting in place the building blocks to expand police training to the state and municipal level. We have strengthened police academies in the states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Nuevo Leon, and Puebla, enabling them to serve as the backbone for training programs and to conduct regional training. We are building our joint state training program around this regional structure but expanding it to reach all of Mexico’s 31 states and the Federal District. Some programs will be regional in their application, enhancing cooperation between law enforcement officials in neighboring states as they implement reforms. Contending with transnational crime and violence against communities takes collaboration and partnerships. And that is why, in addition to regional training academies, we are supporting task forces at the state level to better develop and share police intelligence, augmenting local capacity to combat criminal organizations.

Building on the Peña Nieto Administration’s agenda for police professionalization, we will work with the Government of Mexico to enhance and professionalize existing law enforcement institutions to develop federal standards for Mexican officials in the areas of recruitment, training, discipline and promotion. Drawing upon expertise here at home, U.S. Federal, state, and local partners will help to advise their Mexican counterparts on policing standards and best practices, and facilitate regional working groups that integrate state, local, and federal entities. Police professionalization, greater observance of civil and human rights, and greater trust among the Mexican public in its police will result.

Greater border security capacity, along Mexico’s northern and southern borders is also a significant bilateral priority. Our governments have committed to further enhancing the Government of Mexico’s ability to interdict illicit narcotics, arms, and money as well as strengthen control of porous border areas. Using the train the trainer method to multiply the impact of our assistance, we have already provided specialized training for police, military, and Mexican Customs officials that address advanced border security and import/export processing techniques and methodologies. On Mexico’s southern border, we expect that our assistance programs will help to improve communications among Mexican law enforcement, immigration, and community officials, increasing their interoperability and capacity to share information to adapt to evolving criminal tactics. This is important to Mexico’s national security and it is to ours as well. It goes without saying that strengthening Mexico’s capacity to control its border with Belize and Guatemala, which Mexico is already taking steps to do, will improve security on our own southern border.

In addition to new programs that we expect to have underway in the year ahead, we continue to build on the success of several ongoing programs. For example, Mexico’s federal corrections system continues to be a recognized international leader in corrections reform, with eight federal facilities already certified by the independent American Correctional Association. The reforms already underway, including the creation of an objective prisoner classification system and the construction of new facilities, are making great strides. Mexico’s success in reforming the corrections systems at the federal level can serve as the launching point for supporting similar reforms at the state level, where significant challenges remain. We will support Mexico in assessing state facilities and in its efforts to undertake similar reforms at the state level.
We will also continue supporting Mexico’s efforts to improve information sharing among its agencies involved in the fight against money laundering and illicit finance, a priority area for the Peña Nieto administration. Enhanced Mexican interagency coordination will lead to more prosecutions and cash seized. We have already provided funding for the training of the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (FIU) personnel, sophisticated financial analysis software, and the accompanying computer hardware. Given the expanded responsibilities of the FIU under the new anti-money laundering legislation passed in late 2012, we are providing additional support for upgrades and expanding their data center.

Complementary to our assistance at the institutional level, we will also continue to support local communities by promoting behavioral changes for improving rule of law from the ground up, such as through our Culture of Lawfulness program. This program offers a civic education curriculum to schools throughout Mexico, professional ethics education for the federal and state police as well other public officials, and informs citizens on the process for reporting crime and collects feedback on their experience of reporting crime through on-site monitors at local public prosecutors’ offices in Mexico City.

These examples of past, current, and future security collaboration with Mexico are just that, examples. Building strong and able justice sector institutions capable of dealing with organized crime and the accompanying violence and corruption is a difficult and long-term endeavor. It takes years of dedicated and sustained work across numerous institutions and sectors, the political will to affect change, and the resources and stamina to see it through. This is the path toward secure and safe communities and secure and safe economies. Our work with Mexico over the past seven years has achieved far reaching results and I am confident that our collaborative efforts will continue.

Thank you, Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel and other distinguished Members for your time. I look forward to answering any questions you might have.

16 FORMER, CURRENT MEMBERS PUERTO RICO POLICE INDICTED FOR ROLES IN ORGANIZED CRIME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Sixteen Current and Former Puerto Rico Police Officers Indicted for Allegedly Running Criminal Organization out of Police Department

Officers Charged with Racketeering, Robbery, Extortion, Firearm, Narcotics, Civil Rights and Theft Charges

Sixteen current and former Puerto Rico police officers have been indicted for their alleged participation in a criminal organization, run out of the police department, that used their affiliation with law enforcement to make money through robbery, extortion, manipulating court records and selling illegal narcotics.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI’s San Juan Division made the announcement.

“ The criminal action today dismantles an entire network of officers who, we allege, used their badges and their guns not to uphold the law, but to break it,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil.   “The indictment portrays a classic criminal shakedown, an organized crime spree of which the most experienced mafia family would have been proud.   But the people wielding the guns and stealing the drugs here weren’t mob goodfellas or mafia soldiers – these were police officers violating their oaths to enforce the law, making a mockery of the police’s sacred responsibility to protect the public. ”

“This is a troubling day for law enforcement in Puerto Rico. Officers who use their badges as an excuse to commit egregious acts of violence and drug trafficking are an affront to the rule of law,” said US Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez.  “According to these allegations, the law enforcement officers charged today sold their badges by taking payoffs from drug dealers that they should have been arresting, extorting money, planting evidence and stealing from them, to mention a few of their crimes.  They not only betrayed the citizens they were sworn to protect, they also betrayed the thousands of honest, hard-working law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.  We will continue to work with our local law enforcement partners to end this cycle of corruption and renew Puerto Rico’s trust in its police officers.”

“Today is a sad day for Puerto Rico, where a group of police officers allegedly disgraced their uniform and are a shame to the Police of Puerto Rico,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Cases.   “They not only let their colleagues and family down, they let the citizens of Puerto Rico down.”

The indictment, returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico, includes 36 charges against the following individuals: Osvaldo Vazquez-Ruiz, 38; Orlando Sierra-Pereira, 37; Danny Nieves-Rivera, 34; Roberto Ortiz-Cintron, 34; Yovanny Crespo-Candelaria, 33; Jose Sanchez-Santiago, 31; Miguel Perez-Rivera, 34; Nadab Arroyo-Rosa, 33; Jose Flores-Villalongo, 52; Luis Suarez-Sanchez, 36; Eduardo Montañez-Perez, 29; Carlos Laureano-Cruz, 40; Carlos Candelario-Santiago, 46; Ruben Casiano-Pietri, 36; Ricardo Rivera-Rodriguez, 39; and Christian Valles-Collazo, 28.   At the time of the crimes charged, Flores-Villalongo and Candelario-Santiago were sergeants with the Police of Puerto Rico (POPR); the others were police officers.

The first 13 defendants listed are charged with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.   Other charges against certain defendants include extortion and attempted extortion under color of official right, conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery, illegal use and sale of firearms, narcotics trafficking, civil rights violations, theft of government property, and false statements to federal agents.

According to the indictment, the officers charged with RICO conspiracy were members of a criminal organization who sought to enrich themselves through a pattern of illegal conduct.   The officers worked together to conduct traffic stops and enter homes or buildings used by persons suspected of being engaged in criminal activity to steal money, property and narcotics.    The officers planted evidence to make false arrests, then extorted money in exchange for their victims’ release from custody.   In exchange for bribe payments, the defendants gave false testimony, manipulated court records and failed to appear in court when required so that cases would be dismissed.   The officers also sold and distributed wholesale quantities of narcotics.

For example, in April 2012, defendants Vazquez-Ruiz and Sierra-Pereira allegedly conducted a traffic stop in their capacity as police officers and stole approximately $22,000 they believed to be illegal drug proceeds.   Vazquez-Ruiz later attempted to extort approximately $8,000 from an individual they believed to be a drug dealer’s accomplice in exchange for promising to release an alleged prisoner.

In another example, the indictment alleges that in November 2012, defendants Sierra-Pereira, Nieves-Rivera, Ortiz-Cintron and Valles-Collazo illegally entered an apartment and stole approximately $30,000, which they believed were illegal lottery proceeds.

The indictment charges that the defendants frequently shared the proceeds they illegally obtained and that they used their power, authority and official positions as police officers to promote and protect their illegal activity.   Among other things, the indictment charges that they used POPR firearms, badges, patrol cars, tools, uniforms and other equipment to commit the crimes and concealed their illegal activity with fraudulently obtained court documents and falsified POPR paperwork to make it appear that they were engaged in legitimate police work.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations.   The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division.   The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Brian K. Kidd, Emily Rae Woods and Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mariana Bauza of the District of Puerto Rico.

ALLEGED DRUG TRAFFICKER EXTRADITED FROM HONDURAS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Extradition of Carlos Lobo

Press Statement

Jen Psaki

Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

May 9, 2014

The Honduran Supreme Court authorized the extradition of Carlos Lobo to the United States on drug trafficking charges. His extradition took place yesterday. We commend Honduras’ resolve in taking this historic step to extradite one of its own citizens, which strikes a blow against impunity for organized crime and narcotics trafficking. Mr. Lobo’s extradition is an important affirmation of the rule of law in Honduras and a strong signal that President Juan Orlando Hernandez is fully committed to stopping the use of Honduran territory for illicit activity.

The Government of Honduras, including its Supreme Court, has sent a clear message that those accused of crimes that jeopardize the safety of Honduran citizens will not be allowed to hide from justice. The United States fully supports Honduran efforts to strengthen the rule of law and improve the quality of life for all Hondurans.

U.S. WORKS TO TRAIN COSTA RICAN AUTHORITIES TO STOP COCAINE TRAFFICK

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Strengthening Costa Rica’s Borders

In 2012, more than half of the primary flow of the cocaine trafficked to the United States first transited through the Central American corridor. Costa Rica’s use as a drug transshipment point is credited to its strategic geographic location, linking narcotics-producing countries in South America with the United States and the challenges of patrolling its extensive Caribbean and Pacific coastlines.

INL is taking steps across Central America to assist countries like Costa Rica improve their capabilities through the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). CARSI programs seek to disrupt crime that operates cross-regionally without regard to national borders, while also helping national governments take greater responsibility for their own security with professional, effective law enforcement.

A key pillar of the CARSI program is its capacity building for law enforcement. Since 2010, INL has partnered with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Central America, and CBP first offered land interdiction training to the Costa Rican Fuerza Publica, or National Police, in 2012. That training highlighted Costa Rica’s need for a dedicated Border Police force that could recruit cadets to work far from home in the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica’s border zones, and provide a career path that rewarded these specialized officers.
This necessary border police force was created by the Costa Rican government in 2013. On September 13th, 2013, Fuerza Publica officers began a basic border course taught and designed by Costa Ricans with input from CBP. At the end of the course, 170 officers went north to begin putting these lessons into practice, while 30 officers remained for an advanced course taught directly by CBP. The advanced course will give these officers specialized skills in mobile patrols, border post management, inspection of fraudulent documents, as well as day and night tactical operations.

In the weeks following their deployment, graduates of the basic course have made national headlines across Costa Rica with their discovery of ten helipads built on ranches owned by suspected drug traffickers and corrupt local officials, depots of military-style weapons, bulk currency, and stolen aviation fuel hidden in the remote hills along the border with Nicaragua. Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigative Police are now using evidence collected by the Border Police to build a case against the criminal network linked to the discoveries, while the 27 graduates of the advanced course head to the border to add an even greater level of advanced techniques to the efforts already underway.

AFGHAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR NARCO-TERRORISM

Photo:  Poppy Field Afghanistan.  Credit:  Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Haji Bagcho Sentenced to Life in Prison on Drug Trafficking and Narco-Terrorism Charges Afghan National Responsible for Almost 20 Percent of World’s Heroin Production
WASHINGTON – An Afghan national with ties to the Taliban was sentenced to life in prison today for conspiring to distribute heroin to the United States and for using drug proceeds to fund, arm and supply the Taliban, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
 
Haji Bagcho, an Afghan national and large scale drug trafficker, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle in the District of Columbia.   In addition to his prison term, Bagcho was ordered to forfeit $254,203,032 in drug proceeds along with his property in Afghanistan.

 “Haji Bagcho led a massive drug production and trafficking operation that supplied heroin in more than 20 countries, including the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.  “In 2006 alone, he conducted heroin transactions worth more than $250 million.   Bagcho used the profits of his narcotics trafficking operation to support high-level Taliban commanders in Afghanistan.   Today’s life sentence is an appropriate punishment for one of the most notorious heroin traffickers in the world.”

“This is DEA at its finest, working in close collaboration with our Afghan partners to end the long reign of this Afghan drug lord whose drug proceeds financed terror,” said DEA Administrator Leonhart.   “One of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers who helped fund the Taliban will spend his remaining days behind bars in a U.S. prison due to the relentless efforts of DEA, our Afghan counterparts and our prosecuting partners.”  

Bagcho was convicted by a jury on March 13, 2012, after a three week trial, of one count of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, knowing and intending that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States; one count of distribution of one kilogram or more of heroin knowing and intending that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States; and one count of narco-terrorism.   The trial, before Judge Huvelle, was only the second under the narco-terrorism statute since its enactment in 2006.

Bagcho was charged in a superseding indictment on Jan. 28, 2010, after his arrest and extradition to the United States from Afghanistan in May 2009.

The DEA, in cooperation with their Afghan counterparts, conducted the investigation, which revealed that Bagcho was one of the largest heroin traffickers in the world and manufactured the drug in clandestine laboratories along Afghanistan’s border region with Pakistan.   According to information presented at trial, Bagcho, who had been operating his heroin business since at least the 1990s, sent the drug to more than 20 countries, including the United States.   Proceeds from his heroin trafficking were then used to support high-level members of the Taliban in furtherance of their insurgency in Afghanistan.

With the help of cooperating witnesses, evidence showed that the DEA purchased heroin directly from Bagcho’s organization on two occasions, which Bagcho understood was destined for the United States.   They also conducted several searches of residences belonging to Bagcho and his associates, recovering evidence consistent with drug trafficking.   During one search, ledgers belonging to the defendant were found and were later introduced at trial.   One ledger, cataloguing Bagcho’s activities during 2006 alone, reflected heroin transactions totaling more than 123,000 kilograms, worth more than $250 million.   Based on heroin production statistics compiled by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime for 2006, the defendant’s trafficking accounted for approximately 20 percent of the total amount of heroin produced worldwide that year.

Over several years, evidence at trial established that Bagcho used a portion of his drug proceeds to provide cash, weapons and other supplies to the former Taliban governor of Nangarhar Province and two Taliban commanders responsible for insurgent activity in eastern Afghanistan, so that they could continue their “jihad” against western troops and the Afghan government.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Matthew Stiglitz and Marlon Cobar of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section.   The case was investigated by the DEA Special Operations Division in the United States, with assistance from the DEA’s Foreign Deployed Advisory Support Team and Kabul Country Office in Afghanistan, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, and in close cooperation with Afghan law enforcement.   The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section provided invaluable support.