News
Release
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2007
Baby
Blankets Used To Hide Heroin
DEA’s
Operation Jacket Racket Nets
Over 100 Arrests in San Diego,
NY, Mexico
and Colombia
![photo - This baby blanket was used to hide heroin.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081110012708im_/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/photos/operations/jacket_racket/jacket_fig3_sm.jpg) |
This
baby blanket was used to
hide heroin. |
MAY
23 --
(SAN DIEGO) - Alan Poleszak,
Acting Special Agent in Charge
of the DEA’s
San Diego Field Division joined
United States Attorney Karen
P. Hewitt to announce the unsealing
today of ten indictments charging
forty-four individuals with various
drug trafficking, money laundering
and counterfeiting offenses.
Approximately thirty-six of the
forty-four charged in San Diego
were arrested over the last week
as part of an international operation
involving New York City, the
City of Newark, Colombia, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the
Dominican Republic.
A
typical
smuggling
method
used
by
all
three
Colombia
sources
of
supply
was
to
sew
heroin
into
the
linings
of
clothing
or
to
conceal
it
in
the
linings
of
suitcases.
Some
of
the
drugs
were
even
hidden
in
baby
blankets.
The
charges
stem
from
an
investigation
conducted
by
the
Drug
Enforcement
Administration,
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement,
U.S.
Postal
Inspection
Service,
U.S.
Secret
Service,
Internal
Revenue
Service,
United
States
Marshals
Service,
and
numerous
state
and
local
law
enforcement
agencies
in
San
Diego,
Riverside,
Santa
Ana,
Phoenix,
New
York,
Newark,
and
Nebraska,
as
well
as
foreign
federal
law
enforcement
agencies
in
the
above-noted
countries.
“Operation
Jacket
Racket” was
a
DEA
Special
Operations
Division-coordinated
narcotics
investigation
targeting
a
large
scale
Colombian
heroin
drug
trafficking
organization
with
distribution
cells
in
San
Diego,
New
York
City,
and
Newark,
New
Jersey.
The
investigation
also
targeted
multiple
Mexico-based
heroin
transportation
cells
involved
in
the
importation
of
large
quantities
of
heroin
into
the
United
States,
from
three
sources
of
supply
in
Colombia
over
an
extended
period
of
time.
According
to
the
indictments,
upon
arriving
in
the
United
States,
the
heroin
was
shipped
to
either
New
York
or
New
Jersey,
via
airports
in
San
Diego,
Phoenix,
or
Las
Vegas.
Couriers
were
typically
given
a
transportation
fee,
which,
was
deposited
into
bank
accounts
in
New
York
and
New
Jersey,
and
then
immediately
withdrawn
in
Southern
California.
“The
tremendous
effort
of
the
DEA
Narcotic
Task
Force,
coupled
with
outstanding
cooperation
from
Colombia,
Mexico,
and
elsewhere
has
resulted
in
this
achievement.
Solid
police
work
transcends
international
boundaries,
as
evidenced
by
the
results
of
this
investigation.
The
threat
of
heroin
and
cocaine
trafficking
has
been
reduced
by
the
tireless
efforts
of
DEA
and
its
worldwide
partners,” said
Poleszak.
The
identified
Colombian
sources
of
supply
and
members
of
the
transportation
and
distribution
cells
were
among
those
arrested
as
a
result
of
federal
indictments
unsealed
in
San
Diego
and
New
York.
Fifteen
of
the
San
Diego
defendants
were
arrested
in
the
Southern
District
of
California;
three
were
arrested
in
the
Central
District
of
California;
nine
were
arrested
in
Colombia;
seven
in
Mexico,
one
in
Costa
Rica,
and
one
in
the
Dominican
Republic.
The
San
Diego
investigation
into
the
above-noted
Mexicali-based
and
Tijuana-based
heroin
transportation
cells
led
to
the
identification
of
several
other
drug
trafficking
(and
counterfeit
currency)
organizations.
These
smaller
organizations
were
also
using
the
services
of
the
heroin
transportation
cells.
Investigation
into
these
smaller
organizations
led
to
additional
seizures,
arrests
and
indictments.
During
the
course
of
the
investigation,
more
than
100
individuals
were
arrested
and
approximately
350
kilograms
of
heroin,
220
kilograms
of
cocaine,
1
kilogram
of
methamphetamine,
150
pounds
of
marijuana,
$200,000
in
United
States
currency,
and
$1,000,000
in
counterfeit
United
States
Currency
were
seized.
United
States
Attorney
Hewitt
said, “This
investigation
has
dismantled
three
major
heroin
distribution
networks
that
smuggled
large
scale
quantities
of
heroin
through
the
southwest
border.
Federal
agents,
working
with
law
enforcement
officials
abroad,
have
cut
down
these
traffickers
at
the
source
of
supply,
which
will
prevent
future
heroin
supplies
from
reaching
the
streets
of
our
community.”
“This
criminal
enterprise
operated
throughout
the
western
hemisphere,
but
ICE
agents
and
their
investigations
are
global.
We
will
continue
to
foster
and
strengthen
our
relationships
with
international
and
domestic
law
enforcement
in
order
to
identify,
locate
and
bring
criminals
to
justice,” said
Serge
Duarte,
Acting
Special
Agent
in
Charge
for
ICE
Investigations
in
San
Diego.
Robert
W.
Malaby,
Inspector
in
Charge,
U.S.
Postal
Inspection
Service,
Los
Angeles
Division,
said, "Operation
Jacket
Racket
was
an
outstanding
example
of
law
enforcement
agencies
working
together
to
achieve
a
common
goal.
The
U.S.
Postal
Inspection
Service
is
committed
to
working
with
fellow
law
enforcement
agencies
to
identify
and
curtail
the
trafficking
and
sale
of
drugs
in
the
United
States."
“Drug
trafficking
organizations
continue
to
devise
ways
of
hiding
their
illegal
proceeds
in
order
to
promote
their
unlawful
activities
and
fund
their
operations.
IRS
Criminal
Investigation
continues
to
be
a
prominent
partner
in
narcotics
investigations
by
utilizing
the
financial
expertise
of
our
special
agents
to
uncover
the
elaborate
money
laundering
schemes.
Focusing
on
both
the
drug
and
financial
aspects
in
joint
investigations
leads
to
the
success
in
dismantling
drug
trafficking
organizations,” said
Ronald
Krajewski,
Acting
Special
Agent
in
Charge,
San
Diego
Field
Office.
United
States
Attorney
Hewitt
also
wishes
to
thank
the
DEA's
New
York
Field
Division
and
the
United
States
Attorney's
Office
for
the
Southern
District
of
New
York,
who
participated
in
this
investigation,
and
whose
efforts
led
to
the
arrests
of
four
additional
defendants
on
charges
that
they
conspired
to
distribute
1
kilogram
and
more
of
heroin.
These
defendants
are
being
prosecuted
by
the
U.S.
Attorney's
Office
for
the
Southern
District
of
New
York,
in
Manhattan
federal
court.
United
States
Attorney
Hewitt
praised
the
Organized
Crime
Drug
Enforcement
Task
Force
(OCDETF)
for
the
coordinated
team
effort
in
the
culmination
of
this
investigation.
The
OCDETF
program
was
created
to
consolidate
and
utilize
all
law
enforcement
resources
in
this
country’s
battle
against
major
drug
trafficking.
The
defendants
are
scheduled
to
be
arraigned
on
the
charges
over
the
next
two
weeks.
-XXX-
|