Pubdate: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) Copyright: 2007 The Arizona Republic Contact: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24 Author: Dennis Wagner RAIDS TARGET MEXICO DRUG RING, YIELD 7 ARRESTS, $12 MILLION IN NARCOTICS Seven drug-smuggling suspects were arrested and about $12 million worth of narcotics was seized in Arizona as part of a nationwide crackdown aimed at a Mexican smuggling cartel that crisscrossed the sand dunes near Yuma and built a submerged bridge across the Colorado River to avoid law enforcement. Ramona Sanchez, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman in Phoenix, said seizures in the Yuma area included 28,000 pounds of marijuana, 93 pounds of cocaine, 4 pounds of methamphetamine and about 2 pounds of heroin. "We got that much dope off the streets, and more importantly we disrupted the organization," Sanchez added. "They're out that much money, and it really does cripple them." advertisement The enforcement in Arizona was tied to a nationwide campaign known as Operation Imperial Emperor, directed against a cartel headed by Victor Emilio Cazares-Gastellum, identified by the Justice Department as an international drug kingpin. All told, there have been more than 400 arrests, including 66 that occurred Wednesday in four states. In Yuma County, authorities launched a pair of investigations beginning in December 2005. One of those, dubbed Operation Cut Throat, targeted a cell that used motorcycles and dune buggies to cross the border through the Imperial Dunes area, mixing in with recreational riders. The other sting, Operation River Warriors, focused on a group that built sandbag bridges beneath the surface of the Colorado River so that off-road vehicles could cross. Investigators merged the probes after discovering they were dealing with a single cartel that also moved giant marijuana loads through border checkpoints in vehicles with hidden compartments. Sanchez said the list of Arizona suspects includes two leaders of the River Warriors group who remain at large: a man, 33, and a man age unknown. Both men have criminal histories, and are believed to be in Mexico. Forty investigators took part in Wednesday's raids in the Yuma area. When it was over, Timothy J. Landrum, the DEA's special agent in charge, said, "Arizona citizens are now safer as this organization lies in a shambles." According to the Justice Department, the national crackdown netted $45 million in cash, 18 tons of narcotics and $6 million in assets. Indictments were unsealed in Arizona, California and Illinois. Defendants are charged with conspiracy, drug trafficking and other crimes. In court papers, the Justice Department said Cazares-Gastellum's organization transported drugs from Colombia and Venezuela through Central America to Mexico by land, air and sea. The narcotics were then funneled into the United States, mostly via the Yuma area, before reaching transnational shipment points in Phoenix and Los Angeles. More than 100 federal, state, local and foreign investigators took part in the task force. While the government has conducted successful drug-war crackdowns in the past, federal authorities were almost giddy about the success of Operation Imperial Emperor. In the words of DEA administrator Karen Tandy, "We ripped out this empire's U.S. infrastructure . . . and tossed it into the dustbin of history." - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine