Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (WI) Copyright: 2002 Green Bay Press-Gazette Contact: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/879 Author: Paul Srubas BUST SLOWS, WON'T STOP, POT SUPPLY, POLICE SAY It was the largest pot seizure in Brown County history, but even Green Bay's head drug agent doesn't believe seizing more than a half-ton of marijuana will have much impact on the area's drug trade. "There'll be a vacuum, a void caused by this," predicted Lt. Tom Molitor, whose officers arrested three men and were involved in a raid that led to the confiscation of 1,354 pounds of marijuana. "You'll have newer people coming in to fill the void. "There's never just one source." Brown County Drug Task Force agents seized the marijuana from a home at 1315 Weise St., on Green Bay's east side, over the weekend. Federal charges have been brought against Hugo Campa-Gonzalez, 34, address unknown, and two residents of the house, Bernardo Perez, 21, and Gerardo Perez-Martinez, 20, whom Molitor described as brothers. The three had initial appearances Monday in federal court in Milwaukee and are scheduled to appear at a detention hearing at 9:30 a.m. today. The investigation began in February, with a tip to law enforcement. Before the month was out, local agents knew it was going to be a big case and enlisted the help of state and federal drug agents, Molitor said. They were able to tell the suspects had a large supply because they could make large sales fairly quickly, he said. But investigators actually expected the raid to reveal a large amount of cocaine, not marijuana, he said. They seized a few ounces of cocaine, but nothing compared to the huge amount of marijuana that was in the house, he said. He speculated that the suspects had sold out most of their cocaine supply and had only recently acquired the marijuana. Officers found the marijuana in bales in the basement of the home, said Lt. Gary Van Straten, the Brown County Sheriff's Department representative on the task force. He said the drugs had a street value of $2.2 million and probably had been trucked into Green Bay. Agents had the home under surveillance over the weekend and waited until all three of the suspects were arrested in traffic stops before they raided the home, Molitor said. Narcotics agents bought drugs from the men nine times, according to an affidavit filed with a search warrant in Brown County Court on Monday. Agents bought about 4.3 ounces of cocaine and two pounds of marijuana during the investigation. "These guys are big wholesalers, but they were also doing small retail sales, because that's very lucrative," Molitor said. In general, marijuana and cocaine fetch higher prices in Brown County than they do in Milwaukee and Chicago because Brown County is farther from many of the sources, he said. That makes Brown County an attractive place for drug-dealers, because they can earn more profit on their sales, he said. Small amounts of marijuana and cocaine sell for a higher profit than larger amounts, so these wholesalers were supplementing their income with smaller sales, he explained. The size of the seizure likely wouldn't cause the local prices to fluctuate much, he said. But even if it did, it would only make Brown County an even more attractive market for profit-motivated drug dealers, he said. "For Brown County, this is more than a drop in the bucket, but does it mean we're winning the war on drugs? No," Molitor said. "But it does means this pot is not going to be used by this huge demand base."