News
Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2001
MORE THAN 261 ARRESTED IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR COCAINE AND MARIJUANA
SMUGGLING OPERATION
Culminating an eighteen-month
long nationwide investigation, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Customs Service, in
cooperation with state and local law enforcement, today arrested 76 individuals,
so far, in connection with a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization
responsible for putting tens of millions of dollars worth of cocaine and
marijuana on the streets of at least a dozen U.S. cities.
The investigation,
known as Operation Marquis, targeted a drug trafficking organization based
in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The Marquis Organization consists of remnants
of the former Amado Carrillo-Fuentes Organization along with other well-known
traffickers. Transportation and distribution "cells" of the
Marquis Organization had been established in cities across the United
States, including: Laredo, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Tulsa,
Chicago, Wichita, Little Rock, New York area, Newark, Charlotte, Detroit,
Atlanta, Cleveland, Memphis, and Nashville.
Over the last several
years, the Marquis Organization is alleged to have moved large quantities
of cocaine and marijuana through the Nuevo Laredo transportation corridor
into south Texas. In most cases, the drugs were temporarily warehoused
in the Laredo area before being transshipped to established distribution
cells operating throughout the United States. The organization's preferred
method of transportation was tractor-trailers, with the narcotics concealed
by cover loads of produce. However, the organization also utilized automobiles
with concealed compartments for the transportation of smaller quantities
of narcotics. Narcotics proceeds were generally repatriated to Mexico
using the same trucks and cars.
According to DEA
Administrator Donnie Marshall: "The Marquis Organization appears
to be fairly typical of today's organizations operating from Mexicosmaller
groups that rely on each other to capitalize on drug trafficking opportunities.
Nevertheless, these organizations remain just as violent and dangerous
as ever."
In this regard, the
Marquis Organization has shown a propensity for violence. For example,
three men, Jorge Ruvalcaba, Cesar Blake, and Idelfonso "Pancho"
Chavarria, were shot to death in San Antonio, allegedly on the orders
of Marquis-associate, Hugo Villareal-Solis. Villareal-Solis, Jose "Joey"
Abel Rodriguez and the alleged gunman, Roberto Lopez, have been indicted
in the Western District of Texas on drug and murder charges.
Arrests were conducted
simultaneously during early morning hours today in 16 cities, including:
Laredo, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, New York area,
Newark, Charlotte, Cleveland, St. Louis, San Diego, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Nashville, and Memphis. Provisional arrest warrants naming 14 Marquis
Organization members in Mexico will be submitted to Mexican authorities
and, once apprehended, U.S. prosecutors will formally request their extradition.
In addition, the
operation was briefed to the Director of the Organized Crime Unit of the
Mexican Attorney General's Office, and investigative information on the
identities of targets and telephone numbers in Mexico was shared. Mexican
law enforcement agents and prosecutors will seek to develop and/or supplement
cases against these targets for prosecution in Mexico or the U.S. The
sharing of this type of sensitive investigative information during an
on-going investigation in the U.S. sets a new standard in the level of
trust and cooperation in the bilateral law enforcement relationship of
our two countries.
"The success
of Operation Marquis is an excellent example of what can be done when
we work together with our law enforcement counterparts in Mexico,"
said Attorney General John Ashcroft. "The Attorney General of Mexico
and I have agreed to focus our law enforcement efforts on major drug traffickers
and send a clear message to those criminals on both sides of our border
that there will be serious consequences for preying on the citizens of
our countries."
FBI Assistant Director
Ruben Garcia, Jr. said, "Today's law enforcement activities will
have a measurable impact on drug trafficking across our Southwest border.
The work completed in this case emphasizes the importance of inter-agency
cooperation in targeting and investigating drug trafficking organizations."
Acting U.S. Customs
Commissioner Charles Winwood added, "This investigation demonstrates
what can be achieved when law efforts are coordinated and resources are
pooled. Operation Marquis shut down a sprawling criminal network that
plagued communities throughout the country."
Prior to today's
arrests, Operation Marquis had resulted in the arrest of 185 individuals
and the seizure of 8,732 kilograms of cocaine, 27,738 pounds of marijuana,
and $12,481,585.00 in U.S. currency.
The investigation
was initiated in September 1999 and was coordinated by the Special Operations
Division, a joint Department of Justice, DEA, FBI, U.S. Customs and IRS
program, staffed by attorneys from the Justice Department's Criminal Division
and agents and analysts from the participating investigative agencies.
Federal indictments
and complaints have been obtained in these Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force (OCDETF) cases in the following United States Attorneys' Offices:
Southern District of Texas (Houston and Laredo); Western District of Texas
(San Antonio); Northern District of Texas (Dallas); Northern District
of Oklahoma (Tulsa); Northern District of Illinois (Chicago); District
of Kansas; Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock); District of New
Jersey; Western District of North Carolina (Charlotte); Northern District
of Georgia (Atlanta); Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland); Western District
of Tennessee (Memphis); Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville); Southern
District of New York (Manhattan); and the Southern District of California
(San Diego).
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