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Twenty-three individuals were indicted on Sept. 9, 2009, by a federal grand jury and arrested today by Bayamon Strike Force teams, as a result of an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez during a press conference today. Agents from the Bayamon Strike Force, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) and the FBI participated during the investigation and arrests this morning.

The four-count indictment charges that the defendants, aiding and abetting each other, participated in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 9,000 kilograms of cocaine, aboard American Airlines commercial aircrafts. The following defendants are employees of the airline: [1] Wilfredo Rodriguez-Rosado, aka "Mogoyo," aka "Pitin," aka "Mogo," aka "La Gorda;" [6] Manuel Santiago Alvarado, aka "Faria," aka "La Silla;" [7] Wilfredo Santiago Rios, aka "Wilo," aka "La Rubia;" [8] Jose D. Cordero San Miguel, aka "V-8," aka "La Prieta;" [14] Orlando Jimenez Torres, aka "Tony Finger," aka "Tita;" [15] Wilfredo Cancel Garcia, aka "Cancel;" [16] Roberto Rodriguez Cruz, aka "El Tibu," aka "Pucho;" [21] Jose M. Colon Martinez, aka "Many" and [22] Camilo Sanchez Rodriguez.

This drug trafficking organization, lead by defendant Wilfredo Rodriguez Rosado [1], began operating in or about 1999. Rodriguez Rosado recruited and organized a group of American Airlines employees to ensure that suitcases loaded with kilograms of cocaine were smuggled into American Airlines aircrafts and transported to different cities in the continental United States.

Count three charges four defendants with attempt to posses with the intent to distribute approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine in June 2009, a transaction which the defendants were unable to complete for reasons beyond their control. The $18 million forfeiture count includes the following properties: four residences in the municipality of Morovis; two residences in Bayamon; one residence in Barceloneta; one multi apartment complex in Morovis; two business establishments in Morovis; and one business establishment in Bayamon.

"The United States Attorney's Office, along with our state and federal law enforcement counterparts, will continue investigating and prosecuting drug trafficking organizations which use our island as a trans-shipment point for drugs to the U.S. mainland. The use of commercial aircraft to smuggle narcotics in and out of Puerto Rico, also creates a serious threat to our national security," said Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

"Today's arrests are an example of DEAs success in aggressively pursuing those criminal organizations which exploit vulnerabilities in our airports and recruit airline and other air transportation industry employees to facilitate their drug trafficking activities. With these arrests DEA closes another route for thousands of kilograms of cocaine to reach the United States or any other part of the world from Puerto Rico," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Javier F. Pena. "With the cooperation of the airline industry, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and our law enforcement counterparts DEA will keep drug traffickers away from our airports. By denying the drug traffickers alternate smuggling routes, we disrupt the flow of drugs into Puerto Rico and discourage the use of the island as a transshipment point in the Caribbean."

"The lure of easy money through drug trafficking eventually only leads to time in prison, the seizure of unlawfully gained assets and property, as well as destroys the family nucleus," said Luis S. Fraticelli, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI-San Juan Field Office.

The case was investigated by the Bayamon Strike Force, lead by the DEA, the PRPD, and the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Olga Castellon and Special Assistant United States Attorney Rosaida Melendez.

If convicted, the defendants face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, with fines of up to $4 million. Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

Diego Montoya Sanchez, 48, one of the leaders of the Norte Valle Colombian drug cartel and a former FBI Top Ten Fugitive, pleaded guilty today in Miami to drug trafficking, murder and racketeering charges, the Justice Department announced.

The pleas were announced by Acting U. S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman for the Southern District of Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin for the Southern District of New York, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, FBI Executive Assistant Director Thomas J. Harrington and Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Montoya Sanchez appeared before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in Miami, where he pleaded guilty in two pending federal cases. In the first case, which was indicted in the Southern District of Florida by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Montoya pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States and one count of obstruction of justice by murder.

In the second case, which was indicted in the District of Columbia jointly by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the Criminal Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), Montoya Sanchez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity. The SDNY/NDDS indictment was transferred to the Southern District of Florida for the guilty plea.

Following the decline of the Cali Cartel in the mid-1990s, the Norte Valle Cartel emerged to become Colombia's most prolific cocaine trafficking cartel. Based upon FBI estimates, at its peak the Norte Valle Cartel was responsible for 60 percent of the cocaine exported from Colombia to the United States. According to the SDNY/NDDS indictment, between 1990 and 2004, the Norte Valle Cartel exported more than 1.2 million pounds, or 500 metric tons, of cocaine worth more than $10 billion from Colombia to the United States.

According to the statement of facts submitted in conjunction with today's hearing, Montoya Sanchez was a high-level Colombian drug trafficker for more than two decades. In the mid-1980s, Montoya Sanchez ran cocaine laboratories that served many significant traffickers. In the late 1980s, Montoya Sanchez expanded his organization's operations into smuggling plane loads of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico. According to the statement of facts, by the early 1990s, Montoya Sanchez had switched to maritime smuggling. During the course of the next 15 years, Montoya Sanchez's organization routinely smuggled cocaine loads between 1,000 and 6,000 kilos at a time using go-fast boats and fishing boats, among other methods.

By the late 1990s, Montoya Sanchez and Wilber Varela emerged to become the Norte Valle Cartel's two leading kingpins. Mounting tensions between the Montoya and Varela organizations led to a two-year war between the organizations in which each targeted the other's members for murder. The Montoya-Varela war, which lasted from fall 2003 until fall 2005, resulted in hundreds of deaths, including those of innocent civilians.

At today's hearing, Montoya Sanchez admitted that his organization's practices included using violence and murder against people his organization feared were cooperating with law enforcement. Montoya Sanchez specifically admitted to the August 2003 murder of a one-time organization member who was believed to have been cooperating with authorities.

In May 2004, the FBI added Montoya Sanchez to its list of ten most wanted fugitives. On Sept. 10, 2007, Colombian authorities mounted an operation on a believed Montoya hide-out at a ranch in a rural area outside of Zarzal, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, and captured Montoya Sanchez hiding in a creek-bed approximately 700 yards from the ranch. Montoya Sanchez was extradited from Colombia to Miami on Dec. 12, 2008.

Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, stated, "From the prosecution and conviction of the leaders of the Cali Cartel, to the conviction of Ze'ev Rosenstein and an Israel-based Ecstasy network, to today's dismantling of the Norte Valle Cartel, the Southern District of Florida has had a long and successful history in the war on drugs. We will continue to focus our energy, and the expertise of our prosecutors, to help our law enforcement partners stem the tide of drugs flooding our streets and poisoning our society."

"Diego Montoya Sanchez was the leader of a dangerous, violent drug organization," said Thomas J. Harrington, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI. "Outstanding cooperation between Colombia and the United States was key to his capture, the capture of others, and the effective dismantling of the Norte Valle Cartel. The FBI and its law enforcement partners, both here and overseas, will continue to work together to eliminate other international organized crime threats."

"The prosecution of Montoya Sanchez is a milestone in the efforts to dismantle the Norte Valle Cartel, one of the world's most powerful and dangerous drug-trafficking cartels," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin for the Southern District of New York. "Montoya Sanchez's arrest and extradition marked the end of his long campaign of violence and corruption. We are grateful to our partners at the DEA and in the Colombian government for their tireless work in this investigation."

"Montoya Sanchez's path to the top of the Norte Valle Cartel was marked by decades of extreme violence. That path has now ended in a prison cell, where the man who personally helped direct multi-ton shipments of addictive and destructive narcotics into American cities and towns will be held for his crimes," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "This conviction is a major victory in the joint effort by Colombia and the United States to disrupt and dismantle these drug trafficking organizations, made possible through extensive cooperation with our partners in the Southern District of Florida, the Southern District of New York, the DEA and the FBI."

"This notorious leader of the extremely violent Norte Valle Cartel is where he belongs: behind bars for murder, drug trafficking and racketeering," said Acting DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. "Due to the skilled and brave work by the men and women of DEA and the Colombian National Police, justice has been served for the many victims of his cartel's extreme violence and the tons of cocaine that ended up on American streets. Now he is in prison, no longer able to use his power to destroy others or benefit from his ill-gotten gains."

Montoya Sanchez is the fourth member of his family to be convicted as part of the case out of the Southern District of Florida. In January 2009, Montoya Sanchez's brother, Eugenio Montoya Sanchez, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States and one count of obstruction of justice by murder and was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison. In November 2005, Montoya Sanchez's brother, Juan Carlos Montoya Sanchez, and his cousin, Carlos Felipe Toro Sanchez, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States. They were sentenced to terms of 262 and 235 months in prison, respectively.

According to in-court statements during the hearing, Diego Montoya Sanchez agreed to serve a 45-year prison term for the crimes outlined in the court documents. Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 21, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Altonaga.

The Southern District of Florida indictment is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office and was investigated by the FBI. The SDNY/NDDS indictment was the result of a multi-district investigation and is being prosecuted jointly by SDNY and NDDS, and was investigated by the DEA. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs and NDDS Judicial Attaches in Bogota, Colombia provided significant assistance in both cases. U.S. law enforcement received invaluable assistance in its prosecution of Diego Montoya Sanchez from the Government of Colombia, the Colombian National Police and the Colombian Army.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

The following remarks were issued today by Attorney General Eric Holder:

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to join you today. It is a pleasure to be here among friends and colleagues, many of whom I've had the distinct pleasure of working with over the last 30 years during my time in the Department. There are too many familiar faces in the room to begin naming names, but as I have said many times in the last six months, it is great to be back.

These Leadership Conferences always present a great opportunity for us to learn from one another and for the Department to recognize your many significant accomplishments. This year's conference is even more special, as 2009 marks the 25th year of the Asset Forfeiture Program. I am very pleased to join you in this Silver Anniversary celebration, and I share your pride in the Asset Forfeiture Program's quarter-century of success.

I am also proud to be here today to honor the OCDETF Program, which is now in its 27th year. The OCDETF strategy recognizes that the most effective way to fight sophisticated criminal organizations is by leveraging the strengths, resources, and expertise of federal, state and local investigative and prosecutorial agencies. The OCDETF Program does this through the formation of prosecutor-led, multi-agency task forces that successfully target drug traffickers through cutting edge, intelligence-based analysis and investigative work.

Working together, the OCDETF and Asset Forfeiture Programs have a proven track record of destroying drug trafficking organizations by arresting and prosecuting their leadership and by seizing their financial infrastructure. I am delighted to be here today with the leaders of these great programs.

I'd like to begin by talking about OCDETF, which truly is the strategic centerpiece of the Department's counter-narcotics effort. When I served as United States Attorney, I was fortunate to lead the OCDETF effort here in Washington, DC, and experienced first-hand the field-level effectiveness of the Program. Later, as Deputy Attorney General, I saw just how powerful the OCDETF model could be on a nationwide basis. Now, as Attorney General, I am proud to support your continued success. Through your constant innovation and steadfast commitment to cooperation with our state and local partners, you have enhanced immeasurably our nation's counter-narcotics capabilities.

Two examples of OCDETF's innovative and cooperative approach demonstrate the effectiveness of the OCDETF strategy: (1) the establishment of the OCDETF Fusion Center; and (2) the creation of permanent, co-located OCDETF Strike Forces.

The OCDETF Fusion Center was established to address a pressing need for reliable, in-depth intelligence -- from both human and electronic sources -- to target and attack sophisticated international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Building on the OCDETF philosophy of cooperation and information-sharing, the Fusion Center brings together into a common database the unfiltered investigative information of each OCDETF member agency. Known as "Compass," this database allows analysts to connect investigative information from multiple agencies and to provide real-time analysis to agents and prosecutors in the field. The Fusion Center works in concert with the DEA-led Multi-Agency Special Operations Division to provide the most complete intelligence picture of criminal organizations currently available to U.S. law enforcement.

In recognition of the Fusion Center's effectiveness and the value of the Compass database, the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center -- or "IOC-2," as it is known -- recently entered into a partnership with the OCDETF Fusion Center. The IOC-2 will add important new data sources to the Compass database as well as new analysts into the OCDETF Fusion Center. Through this partnership, we will broaden our capability to attack organized crime in all its forms.

A second illustration of OCDETF's success is the creation of permanent, co-located OCDETF Strike Forces in Boston, New York, Atlanta, Tampa, San Juan, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego -- and soon in El Paso. Because they are both permanent and co-located, these strike forces foster close working relationships across agencies and facilitate multiple, wide-reaching, and highly effective multi-agency investigations. Moreover, these Strike Forces have taken innovative steps to leverage non-OCDETF resources to their great advantage. For example, working with the Asset Forfeiture Fund, OCDETF and the National Drug Intelligence Center have begun to place Document and Media Exploitation Teams in the Atlanta and Houston Strike Forces. These DOMEX teams allow Strike Force analysts and agents to capture and exploit evidence in complex, fast-paced investigations, and to develop trial exhibits for prosecutors quickly and effectively. We look forward to adding DOMEX teams to other co-located strike forces in the near future, beginning with those along the Southwest Border.

Collaborative and innovative efforts such as the OCDETF Fusion Center and the OCDETF Strike Forces are critically important if we are to succeed in our efforts to combat international drug traffickers and money launderers. The criminal organizations that OCDETF targets are as sophisticated as they are ruthless. Indeed, some of these groups have even aligned themselves with terrorist organizations. We have seen that Mexican drug cartels in particular, pose both a national security threat to Mexico and an organized crime threat to the United States. The cartels send seemingly endless supplies of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and other illicit drugs across our borders and onto our streets. They operate seamlessly across local, state, and national boundaries. To combat this threat, we must also be seamless in our operations.

I know that all of you are up to the challenge. Since the inception of the Consolidated Priority Organization Target (or "CPOT") List in 2002, your OCDETF investigations have dismantled 39 CPOT organizations and have disrupted 20 more. Further, you have dismantled or disrupted more than 1,160 CPOT-linked organizations. The success of your operations is impressive, but not surprising. We can expect to achieve these kinds of results when we work together in innovative ways.

Together with OCDETF, the Asset Forfeiture Program has made, and continues to make, a critical difference in the fight against crime. Through your work, the Asset Forfeiture Program provides vitally important funding for law enforcement as well as resources that can be invested in community-changing programs such as "Weed and Seed." And of course, by seizing criminals' assets, you reduce the incentive to commit crime by taking money out of the hands of dangerous drug dealers and terrorists -- money that now works for law enforcement.

As with the OCDETF Program, the success of the Asset Forfeiture Program is a direct result of your hard work and your unfailing commitment to cooperation and collaboration at all levels and across all organizational lines. As Deputy Attorney General, it was my privilege to testify before Congress in support of asset forfeiture legislation. In that testimony, I emphasized the critical role that asset forfeiture plays not only in the fight against illegal drugs, but in the broader fight against other types of crime. Almost ten years to the day since that testimony -- and, appropriately, on the 25th anniversary of the Asset Forfeiture Program -- I am proud to say that the Asset Forfeiture Program remains a critical part of the Department's efforts to reduce and deter criminal activity.

Since 1984, more than $13 billion in net federal forfeiture proceeds have been deposited into the Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund. During this same period, more than $4.5 billion has been equitably shared with more than 8,000 state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide, thereby supplementing their constrained resources without further taxing the public. Once left with no real opportunity to recover their losses, crime victims are now recouping greater sums than ever before. Approximately $500 million in payments have been paid to more 39,000 victims in fiscal year 2008 alone.

Yet, the impact of forfeiture is greater than just money. When we look back on the last 25 years of the program, we see a forfeiture regime that has been transformed from a collection of centuries-old laws designed to fight pirates, enforce customs laws and fight illegal contraband, into an array of modern law enforcement tools designed to combat 21st century criminals both at home and abroad. We now have the ability to deprive global criminals of their ill-gotten gains, to seize the instrumentalities of their trade, and to use the power of asset forfeiture to destroy their illegal enterprises.

Operation Honor Student, a case that will be honored here later tonight, illustrates the power of asset forfeiture and its devastating effect on organized criminal activity. In that case, a task force led by the Rhode Island U.S. Attorney's Office, the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the Criminal Division, and the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations obtained the forfeiture of $2.7 million from the accounts of GeneScience, one of the largest biopharmaceutical companies in China that had been involved in the illegal distribution of Human Growth Hormone into the United States. To accomplish this forfeiture, the task force employed a new statutory vehicle -- 18 U.S.C. section 981(k) -- which permitted the Government to seize the funds, physically located in China, from the corresponding accounts of Chinese banks in New York. This was the first use of section 981(k), enacted as part of the USA Patriot Act, against a Chinese entity, and its success has helped pave the way for subsequent investigations using this groundbreaking authority.

But not to minimize these impressive legal results, the true impact of Operation Honor Student lies in its practical effect on the illegal hGH market in the United States. Task force agents estimate that at the time of the investigation, GeneScience manufactured approximately 90% of the hGH being illegally sold and distributed in the United States. As a direct result of this seizure, GeneScience has stopped all shipments to the United States. So, through the use of a section 981(k) seizure, we were able to eliminate a supplier that represented 90% of an illegal drug market. Ninety percent.

Asset forfeiture plays a critical role not only in drug cases, but across the law enforcement spectrum -- from national security investigations, to securities fraud cases, to healthcare scams. And, of course, we cannot forget the most important -- and sometimes least heralded -- purposes of our Asset Forfeiture Program -- which is to make a meaningful difference in the lives crime victims by recovering stolen funds and property and returning them to their rightful owners.

When we look at the successes of both the Asset Forfeiture Program and the OCDETF Program, I cannot help but think about the possibilities, and challenges, for the next 25 years of these vitally important initiatives. While we have made great strides, international drug traffickers and money launderers continue to threaten our country. Criminal enterprises and terrorist networks continue to misuse our financial system for nefarious purposes. We can and we must do more. I am confident that under the leadership of those assembled here today, we will succeed.

The analysts, agents, and prosecutors of the OCDETF and Asset Forfeiture Programs are among the most talented and dedicated professionals in all of law enforcement. You protect this country day in and day out from the scourge of drugs and violence, and you do it with professionalism, creativity, and passion. I am proud to lead the Department of Justice, and am proud of each of you. Thank you for all that you do. Keep up the great work.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

On the day her trial was to begin in U.S. District Court in Lubbock, Texas, Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) member Marie Chavez, aka "Shorty," the wife of an alleged ALKQN leader Jose Nava, aka "Chino," pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment charging her and 16 co-defendants with various offenses related to alleged narcotics and weapons trafficking and violent activities, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas James T. Jacks.

Specifically, Chavez, 28, of Lubbock, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana; and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. She faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Chavez has been in custody since her arrest in December 2008.

According to documents filed in court, Chavez admitted that from 2001 until the time of her arrest, she and co-defendants, Jose Robledo Nava, aka "Chino" (her husband); Luis Nava, aka "Flaco"; Reynaldo Nava, aka "Rat"; Robert Allen Ramirez, aka "Nesyo"; Carol Ann Rivas Nava; Cecily Dominique Juarez; Jesus Martinez, aka "Solid"; David Hellums, aka "CutThroat"; James Johnathan Cole, aka "Blitz"; Eduardo Daniel Mares, aka "Pitt"; Gabriel Lee Gonzales, Michael Conde, aka "Psycho"; Guerrero Olivas, aka "Screech"; John Guzman; Hiluterio Chavez, aka "Zeus"; and Eliseo Perez, aka "Wicked"; and others agreed to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana.

Chavez today admitted that in furtherance of the conspiracy she was responsible for at least 50 kilograms, but less than 150 kilograms of cocaine, and at least 100 kilograms, but less than 400 kilograms of marijuana. Chavez further admitted that she and her co-defendants intentionally and knowingly possessed with the intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and distributed cocaine and marijuana to others. According to the indictment, they acquired the cocaine and marijuana from Mexico and brought it to the South Texas region, where it was packaged, stored, and transported to Big Spring, Texas, Lubbock, and Midland, Texas, for further distribution.

Chavez today admitted that she transported, divided, packaged, distributed and stored cocaine and marijuana throughout North Texas and that she would send cash to other co-conspirators in furtherance of this conspiracy. She further admitted that on Dec. 13, 2008, she and co-defendants Jose Robledo Nava, Reynaldo Nava and Carol Ann Rivas Nava knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more, but less than five kilograms, of cocaine.

Chavez is the tenth defendant in the case to plead guilty. Others who have pleaded guilty include:

Jesus Martinez, aka "Solid," 28, of Midland

John Guzman, 30, of Big Spring

Hiluterio Chavez, aka "Zeus," 33, of Chicago

Eliseo Perez, aka "Wicked," 28, of Mission, Texas

Luis Nava, aka "Flaco," 25, of Midland

Reynaldo Nava, aka "Rat," 27, of Big Spring

Carol Ann Rivas Nava, 20, of Big Spring

Cecily Dominique Juarez, 20, of Midland

Guerro Olivas, aka "Screech," 26, of Big Spring

The indictment also alleged that from 2004 through mid July 2005, defendants Jose Robledo Nava, Jesus Martinez and Hiluterio Chavez conspired to deal in firearms. Last month, Jesus Martinez and Huluterio Chavez pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in the business of dealing firearms.

Jose Robledo Nava is allegedly the ALKQN leader in Texas. He, along with James Johnathan Cole, Robert Allen Ramirez, Gabriel Lee Gonzales and Eduardo Daniel Mares are charged in the indictment with the May 4, 2008, murders of Valerie Garcia and Michael Cardona, in Big Spring.

The case is being investigated by the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement, and Coordinating Center (Gang TECC); the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF); the Midland and El Paso U.S. Attorney's Offices; the FBI; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the El Paso Intelligence Center; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Lubbock, Midland, Houston, San Antonio and Big Spring, Texas, Police Departments; the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office; and the Howard County, Texas, District Attorney's Office.

Source: US Dept. of Justice

Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that agents from the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation have filed criminal charges against four Cumberland and Dauphin County men accused of shipping as much as $750,000 worth of marijuana and cocaine cross-country, from southern California to the Harrisburg area.

Corbett identified the defendants as Edward Zimmer, 31, 37 South 39th St., Camp Hill; Kevin Hartung, 30, 107 Silver Spring Road, Mechanicsburg; Flor Rivera Jr., 29, 100 North 2nd St., Wormleysburg; and James Houser, 31, 675 Gregs Drive, Harrisburg.

Corbett said the investigation, known as "Operation Frequent Flyer," began in March 2009 after agents from the Attorney General's Office received information about a group of individuals who were reportedly involved in the large-scale shipment of drugs from California into Central Pennsylvania. The drugs were then allegedly repackaged for distribution and sale throughout Cumberland and Dauphin counties.

"This was a well-organized effort to ship bulk quantities of drugs across the country," Corbett said, "including flights to California with stacks of cash, secret drug purchases in San Diego and a specially constructed trailer designed to hide marijuana and cocaine from law enforcement."

According to the criminal complaint, Zimmer and Hartung paid associates to drive to San Diego, California, initially using rental cars and later towing a trailer that contained a hidden compartment designed to hide drugs. Zimmer and Hartung would then allegedly fly to California carrying substantial quantities of cash, purchase the drugs, load the vehicles and then arrange to have the illegal cargo driven back to Cumberland County.

Corbett said that Zimmer and Hartung are believed to have arranged at least five cross-country trips since January 2009, personally transporting cash to California and then instructing associates to drive the drugs back to Central Pennsylvania. Each of those trips allegedly involved the shipment of 50 to 80 pounds of marijuana, worth approximately $650,000, along with $100,000 worth of cocaine.

According to the criminal complaint, the marijuana was allegedly repackaged into smaller quantities and distributed in Cumberland and Dauphin counties by Zimmer, Hartung and James Houser, while the cocaine was allegedly turned over to Flor Rivera Jr. for local distribution.

"Last week, we monitored the beginning of another suspected drug trip to California, with Houser and an associate towing a trailer to California while Zimmer and Hartung flew from Harrisburg International Airport to San Diego," Corbett said. "Late Monday afternoon, a trailer loaded with approximately 70 pounds of marijuana was seized by agents from the Attorney General's office when it arrived for a pre-arraigned meeting at Rivera's residence in Wormleysburg."

Corbett said that Zimmer, Rivera and Houser were all taken into custody when the drug-laden trailer arrived at the meeting location in Cumberland County. An arrest warrant has been issued for Hartung.

Agents executed search warrants at the homes of all four defendants, seizing approx. 70 pounds of marijuana; 300 grams of cocaine; $17,400 in cash; seven firearms; seven cars, trucks and SUV's; three motorcycles; and various drug packaging materials.

Corbett said that Zimmer, Rivera and Houser were all preliminarily arraigned via video link on April 20th and lodged in the Cumberland County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail apiece. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for April 29th before Camp Hill Magisterial District Judge Roger A. Estep.

Hartung is charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, three counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana, two counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of participating in a corrupt organization and one count of possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia.

Zimmer is charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, three counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana, two counts of criminal conspiracy and two counts of participating in a corrupt organization.

Flor Rivera Jr. is charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana, two counts of criminal conspiracy and two counts of participating in a corrupt organization and one count of possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia.

James Houser is charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, three counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana, two counts of criminal conspiracy and one count of participating in a corrupt organization.

Corbett thanked the Cumberland and Dauphin County Drug Task Forces and the U.S. Marshall's Office for their cooperation and assistance with this investigation.

The defendants will be prosecuted in Cumberland County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Heather L. Adams of the Attorney General's Drug Strike Force Section.

Growing Threat

Corbett noted a growing trend across Pennsylvania involving hidden compartments in vehicles used by drug dealers.

"Our agents are seeing a steady growth in the use of hidden compartments in drug vehicles, along with an increased use by lower level drug dealers," Corbett said. "Something once limited to major drug traffickers in the largest cities is now working its way into small towns all across the state -- posing a clear threat to law enforcement and the general public because these compartments can be used to conceal weapons along with drugs and cash."

Corbett said the increased use of hidden compartments in drug vehicles parallels the steady growth of small-town drug organizations across Pennsylvania.

"These compartments can be large or small, crude or sophisticated," Corbett said. "Most of these vehicles are used to move large quantities of drugs or cash back-and-forth across the state, while others serve as movable 'safe houses' -- used to conceal drug supplies from law enforcement or competitors -- and some of the more elaborate hidden compartments become a type of status symbol among drug dealers."

Corbett said that agents and technical specialists from the Attorney General's Office have discovered more than 50 hidden compartments in drug vehicles since 2005, with additional hidden items being discovered by State Police and local police officers.

Corbett noted that agents from the Attorney General's Office provide training and technical assistance to other law enforcement organizations across the state, demonstrating how compartments are concealed in vehicles and teaching police officers what to look for when searching a vehicle. He added that officer safety is the major emphasis of this training.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General