Someone threw a bus company under the bus?
Posted on 04/29/2008 9:50:26 AM PDT by AuntB
(Houston, TX) – Eighteen individuals , including alleged drug traffickers and the owners/operators of commercial bus companies operating from Mexico into the Rio Grande Valley to numerous U.S. cities and their drivers, have been indicted for transporting large loads of marijuana and cocaine in specially modified commercial buses and money laundering. The indictment is the result of a long-term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Road King II. United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced the unsealing of the indictment today at a press conference. The 16-count indictment returned by a Houston grand jury March 31, 2008, was unsealed today.
John P. Walters, the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, on an official visit to the Houston area, attended the press conference and commented upon the positive impact the coordinated and cooperative effort federal, state and local law enforcement action has had on reducing the supply of drugs and the concomitant reduction in demand.
Special Agent in Charge Andrew Bland of FBI Houston, together with Special Agent in Charge Zoran B. Yankovich of DEA Houston, recognized their law enforcement colleagues in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) which, in this case, included the Houston Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for their long-standing commitment and outstanding contributions to this OCDETF investigation.
The U.S. Marshals Service, also a member of HIDTA, was recognized for its extraordinary efforts during the arrest process.
The indictment, unsealed today, describes the use of specially modified commercial buses by alleged drug traffickers interested in smuggling contraband into the United States from Monterrey, Mexico, or transporting contraband from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston and Dallas, Texas; Allentown, Pa.; Joliet, Ill. and elsewhere.
The indictment alleges the owners or managers of the Transtar, Neptune Tours, Los Primos, USA-MEX and Ameri-Mex commercial bus companies, with offices and terminals in Monterrey, Mexico and Rio Grande City, Roma, San Antonio and Houston, Texas, used their various companies as a front for their drug transport services, and hired drivers and loaders to transport the illegal cargo in hidden compartments built into the bus or in areas not accessible to the public.
In exchange for the services, the indictment alleges the owners/managers of the bus companies received thousands of dollars in kickbacks from the proceeds of the drug loads from which they drew their share and paid the drivers and loaders. According to the indictment, this drug transport service has been in operation since at least November 2001 and is responsible for transporting hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, thousands of pounds of marijuana from the border to points north and millions of dollars in drug proceeds south to Mexico.
OCEDTF Operation Road King II targeted this organization beginning in 2001 and through the use of tried and true investigative techniques, communication, coordination and cooperation, ultimately established a more sophisticated undercover operation. Through that undercover operation, more than 570 kilograms of cocaine, 3,000 plus pounds of marijuana and the thousands of dollars in cash have been seized. Additionally, this multi-agency investigative effort has lead to arrests in and the seizure of 200 kilograms of cocaine in Allentown and 1,100 pounds of marijuana in Joliet. Information gathered through the investigation was shared with law enforcement agencies in other U.S. cities including New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Maryland.
I’ve ridden Mexican buses quite a bit and all I’ve ever gotten was an apple and a cookie.
It was drug deals who used bus companies as a front.
For potheads and cokeheads, that's even worse than the price of gas and food going up.
It's not just for breakfast any more.
They must have forgotten to make a scheduled campaign contribution. ;)
“They must have forgotten to make a scheduled campaign contribution. ;)”
....snicker....
Now we now why the TTX Corridor is being shoved down our throats.....quicker routes for drug running Mexican buses.
Talk about illegal aliens, those look like Grey Aliens.
Hmmm...another bus company involved in smuggling?
Who’d-a-thunk-it?
This was in the Chronicle last Wednesday.
Drug ring used buses to smuggle drugs from Mexico to Houston, feds say
Houston Chronicle ^ | April 23, 2008 | CINDY GEORGE
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006299/posts
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
Anyone who thinks their big rigs aren’t doing the same, is a fool.
Nobody in Washington is interested in keeping drugs out of this country.
A stoned, Gov dependent population is easy prey.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.