January 28, 2012 Fourteen suspects arrested in massive marijuana and cocaine smuggling operation www.privateofficer.com
According to the Attorney General’s office, law enforcement seized nearly 3,000 pounds of marijuana, and roughly 20 kilograms of cocaine in seven separate incidents between December 10, 2010 and September 29, 2011. These drugs have an estimated street value of $2.6 to $2.1 million.
The organization used tractor-trailer dump trucks with scrap metal as cover, as well as backpackers and vehicles with hidden compartments, according to a news release from the Attorney General’s office. The ring would smuggle the drugs into the U.S. multiple times each week, storing them at various stash houses in Nogales, Rio Rico, Tucson and Phoenix. They would also smuggle large amounts of U.S. currency back into Mexico.
On January 26, law enforcement agencies conducted simultaneous search and arrest warrants on suspected members of the drug trafficking ring and their stash houses.
The 15 suspected members, 14 of which have been arrested, were indicted on charges including: Illegally Conducting an Enterprise, Conspiracy, Transportation of Marijuana for Sale; Transportation of Cocaine for Sale; Money Laundering; Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction or to Facilitate the Violation of any Felony Provision; and Weapons Misconduct, Attorney General Tom Horne’s office states.
Agencies that worked on this investigation included: Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Strike Force are the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Marshal’s Service, Nogales Police Department, Tucson Police Department, Department of Public Safety, and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Nanette Morrow.
News 4 Tucson’s Lupita Murillo is working on this story now – tune in this evening for her full report.
The names and aliases of those indicted on charges related to this investigation are:
-Jose Arnoldo Morgan-Huerta
-Jose Antonio Morgan
-Juan (Araiza-Mancilla,Bernardino)
-Diana (Audelo-Sotelo, Maria)
-Cesar Adante-Gil
-Norberto Monreal
-Gustavo (Martinez-Flores, Gustavo)
-Luis Angulo
-Daniel Fierro-Chairez
-Modesta Vega-Solano
-Mario Carrazco
-Sandra Alvarez
-Miguel Garcia
-Jesus Cocoba
-Daniel Monreal-Morgan
Source:kvoa.com
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