ATTORNEY
GENERAL JANET RENO ANNOUNCES OVER 50 ARRESTS IN INTERNATIONAL HEROIN
RING
Washington,
D.C. - Attorney General Janet Reno today announced that law enforcement
authorities from the United States and Colombia have concluded a ten-month
long investigation, call Operation White Horse, with the arrest of more
than 50 individuals who were part of an organization trafficking in
heroin between Colombia and the United States.
Operation
White Horse was coordinated by the Special Operations Division, a joint
law enforcement program comprised of attorneys from the Department of
Justice's Criminal Division and agents and analysts from the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Unites
States Customs Service (USCS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
"This
joint investigation represents law enforcement cooperation at its best.
Working together, the participating agencies and government of Colombia
have taken steps to make our streets and communities safer," said Attorney
General Janet Reno. "Fewer drugs on the street means less crime and
more opportunity for all of our communities."
According
to DEA Administrator Donnie R. Marshall, "Thanks to the joint efforts
of U.S. and Colombian law enforcement, we wiped out an entire international
heroin trafficking ring. Sixty-five members of this organization were
in for a rude awakening this morning as they saw the wholesale dismantling
of their organization from top to bottom--from their Colombian headquarters
to distribution cells all the way down to the street-level dealers."
Today's
arrests were coordinated by the multi agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force, designed to dismantle an organization responsible for placing
high-purity Colombian heroin on America's streets. In addition to the
arrests, a total of 16 search warrants were executed in the United States
and Colombia.
Among
those arrested were Wilson Salazar-Maldonado, Fran Giovany Munoz-Marulanda,
and Jair Brito-Giraldo, , all based in Colombia, who were responsible
for supplying multi-kilogram quantities to heroin distribution groups
operating in New York and Philadelphia. This organization predominantly
smuggled heroin into the United States through heroin "swallowers,"
who would ingest pellets of heroin in Pereira, Colombia, and then travel
via commercial airline from Colombia to New York through third countries.
Upon reaching the United States, the heroin would be re-packaged and
sent to distribution elements operating in Philadelphia and New York.
The investigation revealed that the defendants in Philadelphia obtained
heroin from three New York organizations. The New York organizations
were headed by Luis Evelio Brito Giraldo, Ruben Henao and Humberto Romero.
Heroin distributed by the Philadelphia defendants were sold under such
brand names as Titanic, Godfather, Badland, and Verizon.
Based
on this joint investigation by the DEA, the FBI, the IRS, the INS, the
USCS, Philadelphia Police Department, and Westchester Police Department,
over the past month, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
and Eastern District of New York filed drug conspiracy and drug distribution
charges against members of this organization operating in Philadelphia,
New York, and Colombia. Arrest warrants were issued for a total of 19
people in New York and 27 in Pennsylvania. Among those charged in the
New York investigation were Humberto Romero and four other members of
his organization who were arrested in Aruba on or about October 6, 2000,
when they attempted to smuggle approximately 3.8 kilograms of heroin
from Aruba to the United States. Additional charges were filed in Colombia
by Colombia's Office of the Fiscalia Nacional de Republica, as a result
of a Colombian National Police (CNP) investigation targeting elements
of this heroin organization operating in Pereira and Cartago, Colombia.
Prior
to today's arrests, which are expected to number over 50, Operation
White Horse had resulted in 32 arrests and the seizure of 6.5 kilograms
of heroin, .7 kilograms of crack, and approximately $1,231,000 in U.S.
currency.