Pubdate: Wed, 18 Mar 2009
Source: Burlington Times-News (NC)
Copyright: 2009 Freedom Communications, Inc.
Contact: http://www.thetimesnews.com/sections/contactus/letter.php
Website: http://www.thetimesnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1822
Author: Robert Boyer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

Federal Agent; Alamance A Major Hub For Drugs, Violence

Alamance County is a major drug distribution center, one that also 
draws violence and weapons. Sheriff Terry Johnson has said so for 
years. On Monday, a presentation from a federal agent on the front 
line of local drug enforcement efforts agreed with him and used 
sobering statistics and photos of gruesome killings to make the point 
that "all roads lead to Alamance." The Alamance County connection 
stretches not only across the nation but to drug organizations 
responsible for 1,000 killings alone in Mexico since Jan. 1, said 
Wally Serniak, the resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration office in Greensboro.

Alamance County is "major transshipment point for narcotics, mainly 
cocaine and marijuana, for the east coast," Serniak said.

The Greensboro DEA office works a 21-county area that stretches from 
the Virginia border south and east to Cabarrus and Hoke counties. 
Alamance County is on the eastern edge of that territory and "by far 
the number one" hub and a major point of distribution elsewhere, 
Serniak said. Serniak has tied major quantities of drugs and cash 
seized "throughout the country to Alamance County."

Some of the drugs "are destined" for major cities like Chicago, 
Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and other parts of the northeastern 
corridor, he said. In Mexico, drug-related killings have exploded. 
The reason, according to a recent story in the USA Today, is a 
backlash against Mexican President Felipe Calderon's attempt to crack 
down on the drug trade. Aside from other rival drug dealers, the 
warring factions have killed judges, police and government officials.

In his presentation to the county commissioners on Monday, Serniak 
said the economic downturn and turf wars have led to an explosion of 
killings in Mexico and more drugs and violence in Alamance County. 
Until the 1990s, Colombian drug operations oversaw cocaine production 
and distribution in the U.S., he said. The cartels then began selling 
loads of mostly cocaine to Mexican drug organizations, who took over 
the operation from there.

"In the last 10 to 15 years, the Mexican national drug trafficking 
organizations have really taken a foothold in the domestic U.S." The 
Mexicans groups, already skilled in illicit transportation from years 
of human smuggling, have highly structured and compartmentalized 
operations "similar to a Fortune 500 company," Serniak said.

Serniak said those operations tend to rely on U.S. residents, trusted 
family members related to the major Mexican players. Some of those 
residents live in Alamance County and are U.S.-born.

Groups called "cell heads" move cash and drugs between hubs in 
Alamance County and Atlanta.

Tractor trailers and smaller vehicles carry cash back to Mexico in 
bulk. The distributors also wire and launder proceeds through local 
businesses. Seclusion provided by rural areas and easy access to 
major highways make Alamance County desirable to major drug 
distributors. Distributors "can stash loads" in barns and elsewhere 
on farms and get them to the Interstates 85 and 40 quickly, Serniak said.

The poor economy and a struggle for control of the drug trade in 
Mexico and the U.S. are behind the killings in Mexico and a "major, 
major increase in drug-related violence" locally, Serniak said.

The wars have caused a product shortage and higher prices in the 
U.S., pushing the local wholesale price of a kilo (2.2 pounds) of 
cocaine from around $17,000 to $30,000.

Dealers then sell the cocaine at much higher prices to users. Those 
who don't want to pay those prices are turning to more home 
invasions, thefts, and violence to get drugs.

Local authorities "have a good handle" on the level of overall 
activity and who's behind it. The DEA office has seized 300 kilograms 
of cocaine and more than $3 million in cash from one Alamance County 
operation alone. "The numbers are staggering," Serniak said. "And 
we're only getting a small percentage of what's coming through here."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom