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News Release [printer friendly page]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Halonen, S/A
Number: 303-705-7351
Meth
Sold For Sex On Wind River Indian Reservation
DEA
arrests 43, Seizes 20 lbs of Meth during Two-Year Joint Operation
(Riverton,
Wyoming) - Jeffrey D. Sweetin, Special Agent in Charge of the Rocky
Mountain Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Matthew
H. Mead, U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming, Forest Bright,
Director of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), and
Doug NoSeep, Chief of the Wind River Police Department, Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) announced 53 indictments and 43 arrests stemming from
a nearly two-year investigation targeting members of the Claudia Hermosillo
Methamphetamine Trafficking Group which operated on the Wind River
Indian Reservation and throughout Wyoming.
During the course of this investigation, law enforcement seized over 20 pounds
of high-purity methamphetamine, $100,000 in cash, and 20 firearms, including
one machine gun. “The arrests of the Claudia Hermosillo Drug Trafficking
Organization will considerably impact the distribution market on the Wind River
Indian Reservation,” said SAC Sweetin. “The availability of this
most heinous drug and its injurious effect on the community has been dramatically
reduced as a result of this fine collaborative law enforcement effort.”
In the summer of 2004, the DEA Casper Office, the DCI Northwest Enforcement
Team based in Riverton, and BIA in Wind River initiated an investigation into
methamphetamine trafficking in Wyoming which led them to the Hermosillo Organization.
A plague on the Wind River Reservation, the group was distributing over seven
pounds of methamphetamine per month with purity levels of the drug reaching
extremely potent levels. One pound of methamphetamine purchased during the
course of the investigation fetched anywhere from $10,000 to $18,000.
United States Attorney Matt Mead stated, “It is my hope that, between
this investigation and the Goodman case we announced last year, both of which
have
been large in scope and reach, it will be crystal clear to any who peddle meth
that Wyoming is no safe haven for drug dealers. In Wyoming, our outstanding law
enforcement officers have drawn a line in the sand, refusing to let meth permanently
damage the quality of life we have long enjoyed in our wonderful state.”
The following organizations assisted in the successful conclusion of this investigation:
Riverton Police Department, Lander Police Department, Fremont County Sheriff’s
Office, Wind River Police Department, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation,
Wyoming Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, United States Marshal’s, Drug Enforcement Administration,
and the United States Attorney’s Office District of Wyoming.
The defendants, indicted federally, are charged with various drug trafficking
crimes. All charges can be found in either Title 21 or 18 of the United States
Code (USC). Depending on the charge and the amount of drugs the defendants are
alleged to have trafficked, they face prison terms of anywhere from ten years
to life. The charges are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent
unless or until proven guilty.
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