More arrested in sweep By SILVIO J. PANTA, Staff Writer
Thursday, October 9, 2008 10:04 PM PDT
The defendants charged with operating a major drug-trafficking and money-laundering operation pleaded not guilty Thursday to a series of criminal offenses in federal court.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Peter C. Lewis in groups, the defendants whose names were listed in six separate indictments were ordered to appear for a series of pretrial hearings. They were all remanded back into custody.
The arrests of the suspects on Wednesday capped an 18-month investigation dubbed “Operation Money Train” that also resulted in the seizure of large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine bound for distribution throughout the U.S.
The primary source of the illegal narcotics was the Sinaloa Cartel, which is based in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico and Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego said.
Spurred by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, the investigation also netted drug proceeds of more than $9.5 million in bulk cash.
The money, authorities allege, was going to be transported to Mexico inside hidden compartments of passenger vehicles.
The 20 suspected drug traffickers out of the 35 people who were originally indicted were caught in Mexico and the Imperial Valley. Fifteen were reported to be still at large but U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Public Information Officer Eileen Ziedler said Thursday that 17 additional people were also arrested during the sweeps.
The additional suspects were not a part of the initial federal indictment, but are being investigated for having any ties to the case on a state or federal level.
Local police agencies, the FBI, Border Patrol and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration participated in the investigation that began in March of 2007.
The cells have also operated out of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico and in Calexico, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office allege that defendants Sergio Figueroa, Juan Ramon Banuelos-Gonzalez, Arturo Duran-Aguilar, Mario Ponce Moreno, Jaime Verdugo-Lutt and Heraclio Verdugo-Lutt were each charged with engaging in continuing criminal enterprise.
The federal offense carries a minimum mandatory prison term of 20 years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
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anth0r wrote on Oct 10, 2008 6:15 PM: