Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Feds Discover 65M in LA Garment Business Raid, in Sinaloa/CT Money Laundering Scheme

In an intriguingly named investigation called Operation Fashion Police, scores of federal and local law enforcement agents early Wednesday swarmed dozens of residences and apparel businesses in Los Angeles to crack down on a long-running money laundering scheme benefiting two drug cartels in Mexico.

Early on Sept. 10, 1,000 agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and others raided at least 70 locations, including a location near 12th and San Pedro streets in the heart of the Los Angeles Fashion District. Law enforcement officials executed dozens of search warrants and authorities arrested nine defendants.

The money-laundering scheme involved money drops of millions of dollars in cash, often delivered in plastic-wrapped bundles. As much as $80,000 in cash was delivered in a dog-food bag, authorities said.

"The scope of this current case and its potential long-term impact are truly unprecedented," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Southern California.

During the raid, law enforcement officers found $35 million in cash stuffed in cardboard boxes at a condo. At a Bel-Air mansion, another $10 million in cash was founded stuffed in duffel bags and four safes are still to be opened. More than 30 bank accounts with approximately $19 million were seized.

Altogether, from the raids, officials seized at least $65 million in cash.

The search locations included 19 store fronts, six warehouses and numerous residences, authorities said. Several of the targeted warehouses encompass an entire city block and are filled with clothing. Authorities said they would be seizing the clothing in the warehouses, depending on the evidence uncovered during the ongoing searches. No brand names were mentioned in the indictments.

Three defendants associated with QT Fashion were arrested. QT Fashion did business under QT Maternity and Andres Fashion. The three QT Fashion people arrested were: Andrew Jong Hack Park, 56, also known as Andres Park of La Canada-Flintridge; Sang Jun Park, 36, of La Crescenta and Jose Isabel Gomez Arreoloa, 49, of Los Angeles.

Four people associated with Pacific Eurotex were arrested after an indictment alleged they received laundered money of at least $370,000 in bulk cash on four separate occasions. They were one of 160 Fashion District companies visited by Homeland Security Investigations agents in the past informing owners they were required to report cash transactions involving more than $10,000 in currency.

The four people from Pacific Eurotex who were arrested were Hersel Neman, 55, of Beverly Hills, Morad Neman, 54, of Westwood, Mehran Khalili, 45, of Beverly Hills, and Alma Villalobos, 52 of Arleta.

Two other people associated with Yili Underwear and Gayima Underwear were arrested. They were Xilin Chen and Chuang Chen of Temple City. A third member, Aixia Chen, is a fugitive currently being sought by authorities.
Kidnapped, held hostage and Tortured by Sinaloa Cartel
In another case unsealed Wednesday, authorities allege that the Sinaloa drug cartel used a fashion district business to accept and launder ransom payments to secure the release if a U. S. citizen kidnapped by the narcotics organization held hostage and tortured on a ranch in Mexico.

“The garment district has been known for years as a location where people have been dropping drug proceeds in cash to businesses to export clothes and then sell those goods in Mexico,” Arnold of ICE said.

Apparel imported into the United States with U.S. dollars provided by the cartels is sent to Mexico, where it is sold for pesos. Those pesos are then deposited in Mexican bank accounts, reportedly for the Sinaloa and Knights Templar drug cartels.

This elaborate kind of transaction has become increasingly popular since 2010 when Mexico changed its banking regulations stipulating that deposits in U.S. dollars for regular customers must be limited to no more than $7,000 in cash a month. The regulations were devised to stop drug cartels from shuffling their drug money into Mexican banks.
Continued next page

The investigation that prompted Wednesday’s raid began in May 2013. “We used confidential informants and other methods to identify money brokers who were dropping money for the drug cartels at businesses in the garment district. We then inserted undercover agents who took over the job of transporting the money and dropping it off at the garment companies on behalf of the money brokers,” Arnold said. “By doing that, we had an inside eye on what is happening.”

Federal officials said this was just the beginning of taking down a large network of criminals in the garment industry who have been helping the drug cartels.

“These investigations grow tentacles,” Arnold said. “We will identify the money brokers and get more evidence on them. The ultimate goal is the cartel members.”

The garment industry investigation is similar to a toy industry investigation that took place several years ago in Los Angeles and surrounding cities.

In 2010, the owners of Los Angeles–based Angel Toy Corp. were accused of receiving bags stuffed with alleged cocaine sales proceeds and laundering them into pesos. They pleaded guilty to charges of “structuring” and were sentenced to three years in prison.

In 2012, the owners of Woody Toys Inc. in the City of Industry, Calif., were accused of laundering as much as $6 million in drug money over seven years.

Note: in 2012 I wrote an article about the BMPE or black  market peso exchange , and money laundering utilizing wholesalers.  to read the article link here

source: California Apparel News and Thanks to Sintek for the heads up on the story

92 comments:

  1. make your money the gold old fashion way you get to keep it run drugs and it will eventually be seized.... idiots

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    1. Well they were idiots till somebody talked plus tgey were not dealing with drugs they just took care of the money their hands never touched drugs just the dirty money

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    2. Do you think everyone in Beverly Hills and Westwood earn an hinest living? I dont think so.

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    3. Idiots? Idk, seems like a clever idea to me & i'm positive this is only 1 of many clever ideas. Like the article said this is only the beginning of the investigation. Cartels piss $65 mil. Come on no one in the cartel has been busted just fashion district employees who might have known what was happening but might have believed "hey, it's just money" they're obviously making them feel like they committed an obvlivious crime so that they can snitch out the cartels. Cartels always adapt. A few low end people get caught a few new methods devised, the drugs flow north & the money and guns south and the beat goes on dara rum darum

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  2. Pretty much 50 percent of downtown la are money laundering or sneaking in immigrants and drugs,its not only mexican cartels, chinese gangsters and russians and arabs to, drones catching up to everyone gotta keep your hands clean now a days

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    1. Chinesse,russians,and arabs dont run big things like mexican cartels and they do smuggle people but they only smuggle there own kind but they still gotta pay to pass threw mexico.

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    2. Where does the heroin come from??? What about actual Russian aks yeah they don't run stuff

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    3. Are you serious ? Chinese Russians and Arabs run really big things oil weapons anything you want you must not know anything about crime syndicates

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    4. Dumbass commentors arabs and chinese pretty much run all the stores in downtown la selling bootleg clothes and other stuff and stolen merchandise the jews have more money than the cartels and there legit

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    5. That's true, Arabs are in the making money scheams. Most of them talk so good spanish they fool Mexican people and say their Mexican. I seen it happen lol

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    6. Arabs dont dont do nothing rusians dont run nothing to the guy talking about oil and stuff we are talking about in the usa not in rusia or in the movies running a little store selling bootleg does not make them bosses they buy all the shit from people now if any if you fools actually know things the armenians and asians are big on identity theft and extorting their own people and credit and debit card fraud the koreans and chinesse japanesse talk good spanish arabs just drive taxis abd hang out in lityle cafes or at 711 the only thing they got they look hispanic cant talk english or spanish you fools need to stop watching so much tv!!

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  3. To all the g a y guys on here who think these cartels ain't about shit go fck yourselves. They make hip hop degenerates look like they make chump change.

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    1. Well they got caught so they aint shit no more and wait till they rat on there boses .All drug dealers get caught i dont care who you are, greedy ass niggas dont know when to quit

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  4. What the people don't know and there not suppose to know is that some of that money belongs to the Arellano cartel there gonna be big once again bigger than what they were they just don't wanna drag attention it's all about the money first

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    1. Los arellano felix??? Lol i can almost garantee you that not a cent of that money belongs to them, they might hold a bit of power in SD to launder money there but LA belongs to Sinaloa and CT. Los Avendaño run alot of shit down there for Sinaloa, theyre a huge well known family from Sinaloa and there are families that run shit for CT or work with CT from Michoacan like los Roquez. Los Arellanos had theyre time in the early 90's but that was was over 20 years ago and theyre not comming back "stronger than ever" lol

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    2. Los arellano felix??? Lol i can almost garantee you that not a cent of that money belongs to them, they might hold a bit of power in SD to launder money there but LA belongs to Sinaloa and CT. Los Avendaño run alot of shit down there for Sinaloa, theyre a huge well known family from Sinaloa and there are families that run shit for CT or work with CT from Michoacan like los Roquez. Los Arellanos had theyre time in the early 90's but that was was over 20 years ago and theyre not comming back "stronger than ever" lol

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    3. Nancy reagan was asked once if it was true
      --that the president told her "get off my back goddamnit"
      -she answered: "the president used those words, but not in that order" .
      I find her words relevant because I use words like 1:39 all the time, except I will not use them against you, I hope you recognize the difference, besides I usually get my comments posted in spite of pablo pablum, thanks for the help and thanks for the big toothy smile, you will always be bigger than your silly detractors.

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  5. Damn I wish I was there before the feds!

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  6. They're saying 100 million now.

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  7. I believe it was 65 cash but they were now factoring cash in bank accounts, I read that somewhere.

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  8. Good thing this wasn't in Mexico or the government would be reporting 20,000

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    1. Don't forget the crappie mercedes that they don't want after they have the pickings...SMH

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    2. You don't think some Fed's kid is not going to college or taking a couple weeks off to go fishing on a new boat

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    3. These assets are sized under civil forfeiture statues. I deal with this everyday as an attorney. The cash proceeds will be used by the local and federal police. As for hard assets, they will auction it through the US Marshalls.

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    4. I remember a bust, in Dallas, where a cop stole a kilo of cocaine and was later busted for it. And I've heard of them stealing money, and even cocaine from the evidence room and replacing it with sheet rock. Then when they retested it. And it wasn't cocaine so they had to release dozens of people who had been "wrongfully accused" they steal money, jewelry, clothes. US cops are corrupt too, they just know who to mess with. There's cops selling stolen dope. So get off your high horse.

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    5. @1115 na I won't get off my high horse corruption exists everywhere but do you seriously want to compare the sadistic blatant fucked up über corruption of Mexico to the US? Hahaha. Fuck outta here kid. That's one example you have about Dallas.... here at BB the very fact that there's so many stories of cartel jackassery in Mexico with government help on an insane scale should be enough proof that the shit don't compare kid, sorry. Lol. My high horse stays where it is, and pisses where it wants.

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    6. Red oak too, and lousiana had a sheriff that sold dope state wide the list goes on. Go visit a blog about american corruption. You'll be surprised son.

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  9. En Mexico se mueve mucho dinero, may not be legally owned money but its just a fact

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  10. Ouch $65 million cash seized... People are going to get killed over this...

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    1. I think its over 100 mil now, but yeah some people will get hurt, but you know cartels like sinaloa cash in an estimated 30 billion a year so ...

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  11. Yeah i stay by downtown LA its called the alleys right there theres alot of clothing stores and fake stuff being sold there

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    1. Los Callejones is how its known

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    2. Thats where i get my Pirated movies and C.D.'s and fake Nike and dodgers cloths

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  12. The feds are just following the money, who cares about drugs and traffickers, i mean those that don't pay the piso or the plaza get got for all the plata,

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  13. they reported 65 MIL MAYBE THERE WAS MORE

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  14. WONDER how many boxes they bought from Office Depot

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  15. Y los que decian that cds was done nomas pa que vayan y digan culeros!!!

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  16. I want my money back. You have 24hrs or you will be terminated.

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  17. Los callejones. It's like a small Tepito in downtown LA.

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  18. Poor Chapo is still losing. It's bad enough he is locked up. Now the Feds are hitting him below the belt by taking his hard working money. Pobre

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  19. Its called Los Callejones. Its like Tepito in downtown LA.

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  20. @chivis can you refresh my memory how much did they find at that pinche chino house in Mexico city and whatever happen to the chinito

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    1. Middleman for Chinese chemical factory and carteles. Pinched w 20 or 200 palos, just know whole pad was full of cash. His chick recently pinched too for same thing, minus room fulls of cash. Last known about chino he was in witness protection Boston area.

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  21. Me n my Compadre threw down with some paisas there in 2009, reason: causethey jumped his brother on 16 n Maple!! VIVA LOS BOOTLEGGERS!!!

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  22. You got that right my kompita Los homies de Wyoming are gonna be pretty fuckN mad about this

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  23. To the reader who sent me an email through BB gmail account, that will cause a delay, it doesn't come directly to me..
    send to me directly
    chivis.martinez@hushmail.com

    Paz

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  24. First this and now the coca field which is probably CDS as well. $65M is not peanuts. Is CDS in big trouble? They were probably behind the other recent news about the BLO lieutenant's plane crash.

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  25. Don't touch that money Caras palidas...

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  26. People in the know have called the fashion district the "den of thieves" for decades for good reason.Many greedy bastards with no scruples at all. Fuck 'em!

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  27. The Bridge.... New Series from last year.... Catch Up if you have not watched it.... You Will Get Hooked Like Breaking Bad....

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    1. I used to walk that puente alone yo. A white boy walking 16 septiembre in juarez alone to buy ketamine. Keep watching your tv fool. Come over to the Doghouse here in Burque fool,11th and Central. Pinche chivato.

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    2. @1:15...are you Jesse pinkman??

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    3. No. I'd rather watch from my house like a fool than to travel to the "Doghouse". How's that working out for you?

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  28. they're making a big deal about a measley $65 Million. Citibank, Chase, and Wells Fargo launndered Billions for the cartels. No banker went to jail, they just paid a $100 million dollar fine. which is peanuts, when you think about it..

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  29. just a drop in the bucket, the real cash is in vermont...

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  30. This is a major dismantling of a cartel money laundering operation. Some powerful people in CDS and CTs are going to be very unhappy. A major flow of money will now stop and the hit will be felt all the way to the Sierra de Sinaloa. The FBI, DEA, ICE, DOJ, IRS, are licking their chops and chomping at the bit to see how they are going to divide all the loot. The mother of all seizure operations.

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    Replies
    1. I will burn it for them, just give it to me and I will take care of it.

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  31. @9:02

    it depends on which report you believe...Zhenli Ye Gon had at his home between 200-300 Million Dollars

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  32. To the readers calling the commenter a bad name because he said the district is called alleys.

    you are wrong and he is correct, there are many "alleys" in the fashion district, where low end and knock offs are sold, mostly owners are Asian.

    the various alleys are named, for example, "Santee Alley"

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    Replies
    1. Im from los angeles born and raised that area its called los callejones "the alleys"!!

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  33. This cycle is so stupid.The Feds spent 2 years and over 1000 were involved to get 65 million. The news said the money would be divided among local and national agencies!!! Only 9 people got arrested,the money should be used to create rehabilitation facilities,not pay for over time for cops to get more donuts. Make the cops more productive and not pay over time. They will catch more criminals.

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    1. @113 for a sec you were on point but then you said rehabilitation facilities and that's where you fucked up. motherfucker you can't fix people who don't want to be fixed, that mentality is more retarded than the "stupid cycle" you were referring to... actually I think it's the worse part. Rehabilitation centers hahahahahahaha yea ok.

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    2. Rehabilitation is real hard, and I'm talking cigarettes.
      I can only imagine what other addicts go through.
      The CIA really knew what they were doing when they introduced drugs into junior highs in the eighties and the nineties, with all the impunity in the world and presidential pardons for old war heros and plain civilian employees.
      Now,32 years later the business keeps going, and it grew its own wings! Good luck trying to catch up with it!

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  34. @ 4:18 AM HEY!!! WTF? I'm a low-life scumbag and don't you ever compare me to any cartel

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    1. 1:14 Exactly, but borderland beat is full of lowlife scumbags, and the worst are the most apparently sainctly:
      Comen santos y cagan diablos...

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  35. money now over 100 M and still counting

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    Replies
    1. Post link ?? Who are your sources ?

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    2. He cant post a link el chapo is his source.lol this guy just read the newspaper or look at the news if you want a source lol he wants it easier too with a link lol

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  36. Florida's turn to pig out in the money, no warning, to fill campaign coffers...

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  37. READERS:
    in 2012 I wrote an article about money laundering using the BMPE and wholesale goods.

    to read the article link here

    http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/the-perfume-man-and-chapos-stinking-dollars

    ReplyDelete
  38. Lol hahahaha tuta powerful hahahaha that fucken rat don't have power out of michoacan tuta ain't shit that's way he's always crying to the media hahahaha

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  39. @ 5:29....I just googled 100M and came up with links. here is one from NBC news from an hour ago says almost 100M

    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/los-angeles-fashion-district-money-laundering-scheme-busted-n201511

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  40. The way it works is that the owners of that money they pay a finders fee and get some of it back, el que sabe , sabe y el que no , nada mas especula , so quit acting like you really know who that money belongs to cuz if u did you wouldnt say shit , and to the one who said sinaloa runs la , no sean pendejos and stop listening to these lame ass sinaloa corridos cuz if u knew that its all hype! All the sinaloans that i know are jardineros who claim to be narcos on the week end when they go to rodeos lol, nomas porque venden un 20 ya se creen el señor de los cielos , bola de alucinados

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    Replies
    1. No seas envidioso bien saves que los Sinaloenses son los Buenos hay Pruevas por todos lados investiga muy bien, 8 de casa dies Sinaloenses son mafiosos tu cres que tu vas a conocer un pesado hahahahaha

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    2. Lmao that would be you right? Since you 'know' so much alucinado eres tu, & well Sinaloa does run L.A dumbass

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    3. Pobre Ardido Sinaloa es tu Padre inutil.

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    4. This lame said a finders fee ha ha you can tell this guy watches to much tv and does not go out lol get a life or you going to tell us you know more than the dea and fbi lol

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  41. And who privatized zhen li ye gone's millions?
    Those chinese have gone a long way since laundering dirty clothes, to laundering dirty money, but they make so much money that they can't cope with the job, maybe zhen li should have hired more mexicansand spred more money around, they would be so grateful, but no, the play dough needed to be played, classic gamblers and losers, the chinese...

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  42. Lmao at all the haters. Yeah sure looks like the Sinaloa cartel in on the decline.

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  43. I'm at the Santee ally right now.It's Paisa central,90% Paisa and 9% white trAsh. I'm a bit of both and still can't find sh#'% thi I would buy.

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  44. those are el magos cds bodegas they are on him now

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    Replies
    1. How would you know?
      But he has been working under the radar for a long time now it might be true

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  45. Itold chivis a while ago to make a report on mago that would be to intresting knowing the ins and outs of his business for cds

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    Replies
    1. Say what you will, at least some narcs were trying to incubate some business, something banks, governments and private enterprise fail miserably at, no matter how many billions they invest on it...
      The rest is all chismes y chismosas...

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  46. Chivis, el whack ass made me laugh hard, your detractors are getting funnier and funnier all the time, i'm jealous...

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  47. me too that's why I posted it,naughty teensy Willie, but funny as hell

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  48. How many millions did the cops steal before the count?

    ReplyDelete

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