September
2001
OPERATION SANCTUARY
On September 5, 2001,
the DEA and the Dominican Republics National Drug Control Directorate
(NDCD) brought to fruition a year long investigation with arrest of eight
people in San Juan, Dominican Republic and Orlando, Florida. These eight
individuals were part of an international organization engaged in the
illicit trafficking of multi-ton quantities of cocaine and the laundering
of millions of U.S. dollars in drug proceeds. The organizations
activities extended to Venezuela, Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, Puerto
Rico, New York, and Miami.
The U.S. Coast Guard seized 597 kilograms of cocaine. |
The Operation, initiated
by the NDCD, received support from the Special Operations Division, a
joint law enforcement program comprised of attorneys from the Department
of Justices Criminal Division and agents and analysts from the DEA,
FBI, U.S. Customs Service (USCS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Among the other agencies supporting the operation were: New York Police
Department, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Venezuelan National Guard.
DEA Administrator
Asa Hutchinson summed up the operation by saying, Operation Sanctuary
not only dismantled criminal drug trafficking organizations with tentacles
in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Lebanon, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and the U.S.; it provided a textbook example of how well todays
law enforcement agencies unite internationally to fight drug and money
laundering crimes across political and geographic boundaries.
Among the targets
of the investigation were, Wilfredo Andujar-Guzman, the leader of the
organization, Francisco Antonio Iguaran-Mengual, a major supplier of cocaine
out of Venezuela, and Manuel Buenaventura, the second in command. Also,
the major money launderer for the organization, Jose Luis Andrades-Maldonado,
was targeted by the operation.
Significant events
during Operation Sanctuary included the seizure of thousands of kilograms
of cocaine by the U.S. Coast Guard and the arrest of ten members of a
Colombian-Lebanese money laundering organization operating in Colobmia,
New York, Miami, West Palm Beach, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The operation
netted 43 arrests, the seizure of 2,899 kilograms of cocaine and $2,511,285
U.S. Currency.
Over 1400 kilograms of cocaine seized by the U.S. Coast Guard.
"Drug traffickers should know that the Caribbean is no longer a sanctuary
for their illegal activities," said DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson.
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