Pubdate: Wed, 06 Dec 2000
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2000 The Dallas Morning News
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Author: Nancy San Martin

AUTHORITIES SEIZE 35,000 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA, ARREST 9 IN STING

'Operation Catwalk' nets drugs smuggled from Ciudad Juarez

EL PASO  Nine men are in federal custody and more than 35,000 pounds of
marijuana has been confiscated in what authorities call the largest seizure
in recent years of pot smuggled from Ciudad Juarez, across the Rio Grande.

Three of the arrested are from San Antonio, suggesting potential drug cartel
links not only with Mexico but also across the state. Both El Paso and San
Antonio have a history of serving as U.S. bases for organizations with ties
to drug mobs operating out of various cities in Mexico.

Authorities said the bust, announced Tuesday in El Paso, probably involves
one of Mexico's most powerful drug enterprises, known as the Juarez cartel
and headed by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.

"We strongly believe this is part of the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
organization," said Robert Castillo, special agent in charge of the Drug
Enforcement Administration in El Paso.

The case is part of an investigation dubbed "Operation Catwalk," in which
investigators from various local and federal agencies participated as part
of multi-unit operation called the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task
Force.

The seizures and arrests took place during separate incidents between Nov.
28 and Dec. 2. Most of the drugs tied to the case were already stored or
headed to a warehouse in El Paso. The drugs were to be transported to the
eastern part of the United States, officials said.

"Stash houses is a common practice here," said Jack Kelly of the U.S.
Customs Service in El Paso. "How did it [the drug load] get across [the
border]? I can't answer that. It's coming across daily."

The seized marijuana has a street value of $35 million, authorities said. On
Wednesday, the case is expected to go before a grand jury in El Paso, where
authorities will seek indictments against all nine defendants on charges of
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana in excess of 1,000
kilograms.

The offense carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of $4
million.

Authorities said the organization operated out of El Paso for at least two
years, transporting shipments of 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of marijuana an
average of four times a month to various cities in the United States.

"This city is extremely important," Mr. Castillo said. "The drug stays here
for a certain period of time, then it's gone."

Arrested were Pedro Valdivia, 26, Jose Antonio Sandoval, 22, and Jorge
Armando Valdivia-Sandoval, 21, of San Antonio; Ramon Ernesto Macias-Roman,
29, Andres Varela, 22, Jorge Raul Marquez, 24, and David Hernandez, 24, of
El Paso; Leonardo Chavez-Flores, 27, of Juarez; and Moises Medina-Beltran,
47, of Sinaloa, Mexico.

Authorities believe they worked for Gerardo Ulloa-Rodriguez, who remains at
large. Officials say they think he is somewhere in Mexico, along with Mr.
Carrillo Fuentes, a notorious figure with multiple counts of
drug-trafficking and murder charges on file in the United States, as well as
a 3-year-old extradition request.

The Juarez cartel, authorities say, has generated hundreds of millions of
dollars in drug sales since the mid-'90s. Mr. Carrillo Fuentes is believed
to have assumed control of the cartel soon after the death of his brother
Amado on July 4, 1997, following a botched plastic surgery to change his
appearance.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes was given the nickname "Lord of the Skies" because of
his alleged use of aircraft to ship drugs.
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