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September
1996
OPERATION
JUNO
In
September 1996, the DEA and the Internal Revenue Service began a pro-active
undercover money laundering sting investigation called Operation
Juno. Based out of a rented office building in suburban Atlanta, with
a company called Airmark, DEA and IRS Special Agents gained
permission from the Attorney General to open a legitimate stockbrokerage
firm that served to validate the undercover money laundering operation.
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Operation
Juno struck a blow to the Black Market Peso Exchange, a system that
allows drug traffickers to launder the proceeds of illegal narcotics
sales. |
Operation Juno was
initiated after the seizure of approximately 386 kilograms of liquid cocaine,
which had been found concealed and shipped in frozen fish from Cartagena,
Colombia, in July 1995, and shipped under the name of a Colombian company,
Colapia S.A., whose U.S. distribution center was in the Atlanta area.
An investigation
of Colapia S.A. revealed that the Atlanta owner was a partner with a prominent
Cali, Colombia, narcotics trafficker. Members of his organization referred
the Operation Juno stockbrokerage firm to other drug trafficking organizations
in need of financial and money laundering services. Operation Juno then
targeted those drug trafficking organizations, along with their associates
and activities, by offering financial services to launder their drug proceeds.
Special Agents picked
up drug proceeds, usually ranging between $100,000 and $500,000 in U.S.
currency. These pickups were conducted in public areas such as restaurants,
parking lots, shopping centers, and city streets. The narcotic proceeds
that were provided to Operation Juno personnel in cash were often delivered
in gym bags, duffle bags, luggage, and boxes. Drug money pickups were
made in Dallas, Houston, New York, Newark, Providence, Miami, and Chicago,
as well as Madrid, Spain, and Rome, Italy. Operation Juno agents later
wire-transferred the money from the collection city to an undercover bank
account in Atlanta. The money was then distributed to various accounts
in the U.S. and around the world at the direction of the targeted individuals.
Members
of his organization referred the Operation Juno stockbrokerage firm
to other drug trafficking organizations in need of financial and money
laundering services. |
Operation Juno agents
then contracted a third-party money exchanger in Colombia, who typically
would sell the U.S. dollars for pesos on the Colombian black market peso
exchange. Colombian businessmen, who needed U.S. dollars for purchases
of computers, electronic equipment, and other goods and services from
companies in the United States, and were attempting to evade Colombias
restrictions, tariffs, and taxes, contracted the third-party money exchanger
to pay their bills in the U.S. with those same dollars, which technically
never left the United States. The Colombian businessmen would tell the
third party money exchanger where Operation Juno should wire transfer
the dollars. The Colombian businessmen would then release an equal amount
of pesos to the dollars they received, and the third-party exchanger,
at the direction of Operation Juno, then deposited the pesos into the
drug traffickers designated accounts in Colombia. Once the Colombian
pesos were deposited into the designated bank accounts, the money laundering
contract with the narcotics traffickers was fulfilled.
A total of 55 arrests
were made in the United States during the course of the investigation.
Additional indictments were made against five Colombian nationals. Civil
seizure warrants are also brought against 59 domestic bank accounts worldwide.
Approximately $26 million in drug proceeds were targeted for seizure,
with $10 million seized during the investigation, and the balance seized
in 59 accounts at 34 U.S banks, and 282 accounts at 52 foreign banks.
During the course
of the investigation 59 pickups of U.S. dollars were effected. Subsequent
enforcement activity resulting from these pickups led to the seizure of
3,601 kilograms of cocaine and 106 grams of hashish oil.
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