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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Zetas arrested in Chicago

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2011/chicago111611.html

Twenty Charged in Chicago with Various Drug Trafficking Offenses,
Including Five Allegedly Tied to the Mexican “Zetas” Cartel
More than $12 million and 250 kilograms of cocaine seized during the investigation

NOV 16 -- CHICAGO – Twenty defendants are facing federal narcotics charges here, including five alleged members of a Chicago-based cell of the Zetas Mexican drug cartel who were responsible for transporting millions of dollars in drug proceeds between Chicago and Mexico, federal law enforcement officials announced today. A joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation resulted in the charges, as well as accumulated seizures during 2010 of more than $12.4 million cash and approximately 250 kilograms of cocaine in the Chicago area. An additional $480,000 cash and two kilograms of heroin were seized yesterday.

Federal agents yesterday executed simultaneous arrests in the Chicago area and in Laredo, Tex., of defendants stemming from the multi-jurisdiction investigation of drug-trafficking and the flow of its narcotics proceeds. Twelve of the 20 defendants indicted in Chicago were arrested in Chicago and a 13th in Laredo.

The 20 Chicago defendants were charged in five separate indictments that were returned by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2 and unsealed following the arrests. The 12 Chicago defendants arrested here yesterday appeared in U.S. District Court and remain in federal custody pending detention hearings. Five defendants remain fugitives; one was already in federal custody and another is hospitalized.

Yesterday’s seizures of cash and heroin occurred during the arrests and execution of search warrants at the residence of one defendant in Bellwood and another defendant’s residence in Bolingbrook, as well as a safe deposit box.

All 20 Chicago defendants were charged with various narcotics offenses, including conspiracy to possess and distribute quantities of cocaine and using a telephone to facilitate narcotics trafficking. The five alleged members of the money transportation cell were also charged with conspiracy to transfer narcotics proceeds outside the United States. If convicted, 12 defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine, while the remaining eight defendants face a mandatory minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The money transportation conspiracy carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine of twice the value of the money involved. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

“DEA’s commitment to hitting alleged drug trafficking organizations from all angles is especially evident when you consider the impact of the seizure of over $12 million in suspected drug proceeds. In the specific indictment that alleges affiliation of some of the defendants with the Zetas, the influence of Mexican criminal organizations in the wholesale Chicago drug market is apparent. The severing of those ties is of the upmost importance to the DEA,” said Jack Riley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“One indictment in this group signals the first federal prosecution in Chicago of defendants allegedly tied to the Zetas drug-trafficking cartel, and the seizures of cash represented a significant blow to the operation of this alleged money transportation cell,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He praised the dedication and teamwork of the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in Chicago that worked tirelessly to disrupt these alleged drug trafficking conspiracies.

Mr. Fitzgerald announced the charges together with DEA’s Riley, Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gary J. Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago; Alvin Patton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

Mr. Grant said: “The extensive cash seizures made during the course of this investigation illustrates how lucrative the illicit drug trade can be. Combined with the apparent presence of the Zetas in the Chicago area, the charges announced today should serve as a wake-up call to law enforcement throughout the state.”

The prosecutions were coordinated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas also assisted in the investigation. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office conducted a separate but related investigation that resulted in the arrest of eight defendants on state narcotics charges last week in Galesburg, Ill. The federal investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High-Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA).

One indictment alleges that defendant Eduardo Trevino, a fugitive believed to reside in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, directed a money transportation network for the Zetas from Nuevo Laredo, and that this network coordinated the transfer of money from places such as Chicago to Laredo, and then from Laredo to Mexico. At the direction of the Zetas, defendant Salvador Estrada allegedly collected, processed and concealed cash from the sale of drugs so that the narcotics proceeds could be transported by truck drivers, including defendants Miguel Arredondo and Vicente Casares, from Chicago to Laredo, knowing that the proceeds would be transported to the Zetas in Mexico. Defendant Juan Aguirre allegedly worked with the others to coordinate the delivery of cash proceeds to truck drivers.

Estrada allegedly identified and maintained safe houses where drug proceeds were secretly collected, packaged and concealed, such as 1241 South Wenonah Ave., Berwyn, and 3800 West 24 th St., Chicago.

According to the indictment, the following seizures, totaling $12,452,685, were made during the course of the investigation:

$9,428,950, from the 24 th Street stash house on April 30, 2010;

$2,000,010, also on April 30, 2010;

$999,310, on May 27, 2010; and

$24,415, on Dec. 18, 2010, along with a Mosberg 100 ATR .308 rifle and a
Colt .22 semi-automatic handgun.

The 14-count indictment against Trevino and the five alleged Chicago cell members seeks forfeiture of approximately $13 million, including the $12.45 million seized previously. Five of the six (named above) were charged with conspiracy to transport narcotics proceeds outside the United States. Together with defendant, Aureliano Montoya-Pena, all six were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and various other narcotics offenses.

The other four indictments charge the remaining 14 defendants with various narcotics distribution offenses. The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys William Ridgway, Gregory Deis and Heather McShain.

The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

32 comments:

  1. It is always nice to know the zetas are loosing money. 12 million dollars is not a small amount of money.

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  2. Yea baby!!!! That's the way to really knock these pinche criminals out!!!The Zs are nothing without their dope and money!!! Nothing, nada!!!
    God bless all the law abiding officers and their family's too!!
    Keep up the great work to stop these criminal culos from messing up our country!!!

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  3. Pinche Zetas andan en todos las partes son como ratas...hijos de sus putas madres...

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  4. This country already was messed up before these Zs got busted....they wer supplying all you crack.head whiteboys...sumone else will juss step in there shoes or CDS already did...

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  5. Yall some f##kin haters.. Envy is ugly and dosent like ugly. Zetas or not they are getting money they must have gotten ratted out by the sinloa ratazzz.. Its In there MO..

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  6. BLEED EM OUT LIKE THE PIGS THEY ARE,

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  7. This is one of the first cases of a large scale Zeta distribution network in the US, post the split with the Gulf. Could mean a lot.

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  8. This is nothing compared what they move around Nuevo Laredo-Laredo Tx......

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  9. Fuck a zeta no respect for dead men walking they will end soon and will fade away so when you see one of these rat bastards plz dont forget to flush

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  10. These guys are guilty of giving each other the dirty sanchez lol zzz on dat bitchez

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  11. It sad, the bad choices these men made affect not only the people they sell these drugs to or who they may have taken out, but its hard to see their kids grow up knowing their dad made the worst choice ever, to become a drugdealer. Someone mentioned dead man walking, yes true, butjust think how their kids feel? The kids of these men are the true victims.

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  12. 8:56and this is just one that we know imagine how many distribution cells they got operating in Texas?

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  13. Like father like son, who cares about these guys children?? Think of how many parents THEY have taken from children, by drugs kidnapping or murder. The last thing you need to b thinking about are these guys children, because obviously they were not thinking of them when they were selling you neighbor crack, or murdering innocent people over there money. America is going soft because of people like you, grow some balls and give people what they deserve don't try And pamper and give rights to people who will never change. I hope these fuckers never get to c there children again, serves them right!

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  14. Agree with the previous poster. Screw their kids, they dont care for them, wht should we? Usa needs to stop being soft and keep fighting these scum here on our soil...there will not be another al capone generation here in usa...lets worry about our citizens and stop worrying about the enemies kids

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  15. They might be selling drugs,because it was the only way for them to make money,just a thought,i could be wrong.I know its an alien thought to most of you,but sometimes people cannot get a job to take care of their family.So some grow balls and do some things they might normally never do.Sometimes its more complicated than,a fuckin career choice,colledge,training,gap year,daddys car,mommys credit card,mortgage,you know what i mean.Big bad drug dealers,you all say that when you have your little line of coke,or when you tokin on a joint,or when you down an E?little hit of agua=meth,Oh its different then.

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  16. @11/16 8:26PM,

    Hey Bro, before you submit a comment maybe you should keep a dictionary handy..or turn on your spell check because your grammar and spelling is pretty sad! (for example: "their" shows possession.."there" shows location) What is "wer" mean.."were?" and "sumone" and "juss". Come on dude, your having problems with four letter words!

    Also, this country is messed up because of ignorant, uneducated, racist, assholes..such as yourself. But hey..I guess "we" need people like you to clean our streets, toilets, sweep floors, etc.

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  17. @Dwel..El Muletas.You see what happens when you be a racist nobhead,that negativity you sendin out,"crackhead whiteboys"comes back at you,sorry to tell you arsehole,im white but i probably darker than you.So whats up with the whiteboy shit,are you a wannabe g-brother,well you cant,because they wouldn't have you,cause your a prick,who is callin himself El Muletas,when we all know El Muletas,been ragged,so why you callin yourself another mans name?You a wannabe.

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  18. los gabachos tambien no valen verga, no sean endejos, nomas nos kieren chingar. los putos.

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  19. Good, go after them.
    And once you get rid of them you realize some new group from a different region took over.
    War on drugs us futile.
    But keep borrowing to perpetually get nowhere

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  20. Grammar police, out n about!! Who gives a flying fuck how it's spelled you understude didn't you dumb ass? Jesss!!! By the way whats wrong with cleaning streets or sweeping floors it's an honest living aint it Mr. Grand Dragon?

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  21. Relax anonymous girly teacher, it was a quick comment I posted. You understood me right dude,bro I mean asshole. For your info I am educated and it seems you want to know my occupation too, proud union worker. Also you say this country is messed up because of ppl like myself, well the greedy white ppl in the government are to blame. Yeah its true people like me sweep floors and clean the streets that you white bums leave dirty and just pan handle all day, people like you wouldnt take those jobs they would rather bum it on the streets!!! Truth hurts huh

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  22. These guys are in mug shots, why were they let go and are now fugitives? some great police work! All children are victims, the drug dealers kids, the kids in this nation and the kids left orphan because of money, all about money! and the assholes who buy this crap are the ones supporting the cartels, great job druggies!!

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  23. doesn't the guy on the top right kind of look like Dangle from Reno911! ? haha, well the Mexican version.

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  24. jajaja AURIELANA LOOKS LIKE A FAG

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  25. A white man or should I say boy...who claims to be darker than a mexican...a dark whiteboy go figure!! Haha you fucken mut. O yea your familys crossed the atlantic to get here so muts ill say..

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  26. Most of the comments are stupid.

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  27. I want some of that money.....

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  28. haha sounds like they couldn't figure out what to call the last one, so they must have been like - "tu te llamas aldo, tu socio, tu chuy, y tu ahhhh.. tu ummmm.. te llamas jesse."

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  29. @ Dwel ...H8TR said..What a fuckin prick,now you goin on about skin color,what a fuckin clown.Its gettin worse on here,i didn't know so many were Racist motherfuckers,anyway fuck this shit im gettin bored with these no class clowns.

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  30. dont be sad wen they kill u or ur family for making fun of this ppl

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  31. if i get 1 million i can get you 10 times more than that ...that money its only 1 or 2 months of their work.....

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