HOW
DO YOU DISMANTLE AN INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING
NETWORK?
With an international law enforcement network, of course.
03/31/04
Imagine
a multinational corporation that's in the business
of selling illegal drugs on a cash-only basis, with
a side business in "laundering" that cash
into legitimate bank accounts. This business has
offices in cities throughout the U.S. and Canada,
and it employs many very close-mouthed salespeople,
managers, couriers, and financial specialists.
You're
a Special Agent in New York City and you're
working on a local drug investigation that makes
you think it might represent just one small branch
of that much larger corporation.
What
do you do?
In
the case of today's massive, coordinated take down
of an illegal "Ecstasy" drug enterprise, you
move carefully and involve a host of U.S. and Canadian
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies
in OPERATION CANDY BOX. Instead of just
closing down your small "branch" in New
York City, you shut down the entire business and
put the alleged CEO (Ze Wai Wong), CFO (Mai Phuong
Le), and a lot of "branch managers" behind
bars.
On
March 31, over 130 indicted defendants were arrested
in 18 cities across the U.S. and Canada. This
two-year multi-investigation has already produced
38 arrests and the seizure of the makings of 8.5
million ecstasy tablets, an additional 500,000
ecstasy tablets, 1,170 pounds of marijuana, 6.5
pounds of methamphetamine, 12 weapons, and $6 million
in U.S. currency. It's the largest Ecstasy takedown
in U.S. history.
Today's
press conference at the Department of Justice brought
together some of the major players in the operation:
- Deputy
Attorney General James Comey
- DEA
Administrator Karen Tandy
- FBI
Deputy Director Bruce Gebhardt
- IRS
Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations Richard
Speier
- Royal
Canadian Mounted Police Chief Superintendent/Director
General Raf Souccar, Drugs and Organized Crime
Director
Mueller pretty much summed things up, though, when
he said, "This victory is a direct result
of enhanced collaboration with our municipal, state,
federal, and Canadian law enforcement partners, as
well as our use of intelligence to systematically
dismantle a complex, multi-jurisdictional criminal
enterprise."
For all the details
of this fascinating case, read the
press release.
