Posted on 05/27/2009 8:09:01 AM PDT by AuntB
Strategy is to avoid attracting attention.Metro counties form major hub for East Coast drug distribution.
The man who lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in Forsyth County appeared to be an ordinary guy.
He ran a small fencing company. His grade-school-aged children played with others in the subdivision. His lifestyle was simple and unassuming.
Neighbors in the Whisper Walk subdivision in Cumming had no idea that Paul Longoria was using his business as a front for cocaine trafficking until authorities arrested him in 2007. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison on felony drug charges a year later in federal court.
“We were shocked,” said Kevin Hopkins, who lives two doors down from Longoria’s former home. “He was a real quiet guy.”
Suburban Atlanta may not be so quiet anymore. Federal authorities say the footprint of operations for Mexican cartels is expanding beyond the city and its immediate suburbs into outlying rural counties and even areas of North Carolina.
Last year, the Office of National Drug Control Policy labeled Barrow, Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Douglas, Fayette and Forsyth counties as high-intensity drug trafficking areas. That designation allows the counties to receive federal grant money and training to combat the problem.
Capt. Paul Taylor, commander of criminal investigations for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, said the discovery of Paul Longoria’s drug smuggling operation in Cumming was an eye-opener.
“When we saw that —- in that quantity, involving that much money —- it kind of opened a new door there,” Taylor said. “It was something we had not seen before.”
Sheriff Roger Garrison of Cherokee County said he is seeing the same trends in his area, particularly along the southwest border of Cherokee, where there has been a rise in drug-related home invasions.
“One of the most alarming trends of the last 12 to 18 months is the amount of violence involved with these primarily Hispanic gangs that are moving some pretty major amounts of drugs,” Garrison said.
The Mexican cartels responsible for transporting 99 percent of illicit drugs into the United States are “studiously low-key,” said Jack Killorin, director of the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force.
“They are trying not to interact in the communities in a way which draws attention,” Killorin said.
Those methods are in stark contrast to the high-profile “Miami Vice” days. Mexican drug traders do not live in fancy houses or terrorize the community at large. Most are recruited from Mexico and still live in Mexico. Very little of their profits are even spent in the United States, Killorin said.
Killorin said Mexican drug trafficking organizations are running an estimated $28.5 billion-a-year business, and yet the U.S. government only intercepts about $1 billion of it.
Last year, the Atlanta division of the Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted about $70 million of the drug lords’ cash, more than any other region in the country.
Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the DEA, said Atlanta is primarily a “cocaine town,” but Mexican cartels also deal in marijuana, methamphetamine and black tar heroin here. They often rent houses in middle-class neighborhoods to conduct their illegal activities, and owners and neighbors are clueless, Truesdell said.
Drug trafficking organizations, especially the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels, use Atlanta as a distribution hub because it sits astride major interstates, Killorin said.
An international airport, extensive rail system and proximity to the port in Savannah are key to moving shipments throughout the eastern United States.
Metro Atlanta’s core counties of Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb and Fulton were labeled high-intensity drug-trafficking areas several years ago.
Experts say Gwinnett is an epicenter of trafficking. Gwinnett police seized record amounts of drugs in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Cartel operatives find it easier to “hide in plain sight” among the county’s large Hispanic immigrant population, Killorin said.
About 17 percent of the county’s 776,000 people are Hispanic, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Last month, local police and federal agents raided 10 locations the Gulf cartel allegedly used to warehouse drugs and money in Gwinnett. Seventeen suspected members of the Gulf cartel were arrested as a result of the investigation, dubbed Operation Grand Finale.
Average citizens in the United States have been largely untouched by cartel violence and thefts, although there have been instances of kidnappings and killings within the drug smugglers’ ranks, said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter.
“At this point we’re not seeing the type of street warfare they are seeing in Mexico, where citizens are endangered,” said Porter.
What has members of the federal narcotics task force worried is that instability within cartels could result in more violence.
In March 2008, federal authorities say cartel operatives were behind a home invasion robbery at an apartment complex off Beaver Ruin Road near Norcross.
Two men suspected of drug involvement were shot and wounded in that incident.
Twenty high-powered assault rifles were seized from suspected Gulf cartel members during Operation Grand Finale last month.
“If they wanted to have impact on the community, they would have a dreadful impact in the community,” Killorin said.
And that is why amnesty will not work. The good people, some here just to work, are simply cover for crime.
It’s fire season, folks!
Illegal immigrant blamed for sparking brush fire
(Arizona) An illegal immigrant is blamed for sparking a brush fire that forced evacuations Sunday afternoon in the Three Points area.
The fire broke out off Sierrita Mountain Road.
Firefighters say flames burned about 160 acres. It’s about 65-percent contained.
At one point, the fire threatened several homes.
The evacuation order was lifted Sunday night and all residents were allowed to return home.
As News 4’s Anthony Cabrera first reported Sunday night at 5:30, Pima County Sheriff’s investigators say an immigrant started the fire.
Deputies say he has medical problems and tried to signal for help.
He’s now in custody.
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=10417603&nav=HMO6.
NOTE: There are some amazing comments after this story.
Same thing is happening in California. Look to the small towns surrounding the big cities. Illegals are taking them over.
“Same thing is happening in California. Look to the small towns surrounding the big cities. Illegals are taking them over.”
Yes, even in rural N. California. Our problem is the armed drug cartels growing dope all over our public lands next door.
Check this one out:
A 30-year-old undocumented immigrant living near Wilmington faces felony charges after allegedly pointing a replica handgun at two police officers Sunday night.
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The incident happened as New Castle County police responded to a report of a group of men drinking alcohol and breaking bottles near an open garage behind a home in the 500 block of Homestead Road, in the Alban Park neighborhood, according to a news release from Cpl. Trinidad Navarro.
As the officers approached the group, most of the men went into the garage, Navarro said. But one man moved toward the officers and pulled what appeared to be a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at two officers.
Cpl. Paul Chickadel, who was just a few feet from the man, grabbed the weapon, pushed him to the ground and took him into custody with assistance from backup officers, Navarro said. Police later determined the weapon was a replica of a 9 mm handgun.
Police identified the man with the replica handgun as Tomas Cruz-Carrera, of the 700 block of Homestead Road. He is charged with carrying a concealed dangerous instrument, aggravated menacing and disorderly conduct.
Police said a computer search showed that Cruz-Carrera is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala. Cruz-Carrera is in custody and faces possible deportation, police said.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090526/NEWS01/905260351
Probably another Obama/Biden voter...
It would seem DHS is too preoccupied with identifying and monitoring all of us domestic conservative terrorists to bother with border security.
As usual, the federal government has failed to carry out its most fundamental responsibility: strict enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and national security.
We can save a lot of money by eliminating the pathetic DHS. Somebody tell Obambi.
Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger uncovered - or predicted - the level of corruption we’re hearing about now among American businessmen.
Sounds like California. Just wait, it gets worse.
I wonder if Rove will get another award from La Raza?
I agree. Since the casino’s have gone in the crime rate has tripled.
“Those methods are in stark contrast to the high-profile “Miami Vice” days. Mexican drug traders do not live in fancy houses or terrorize the community at large”
Pre Miami Vice days, smugglers would rent modest canal front homes that would sit vacant for weeks then all of a sudden have a flurry of activity after dark one night. After several busts the idiots finally caught on that neighbors were calling to report suspicious goings-on at what was otherwise a vacant house.
Lars Larson was just talking about this.....he checked...the perp is on an ICE hold.
Robber gets 27 years in Columbia River Gorge attacks
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/robber_gets_27_years_in_columb_1.html
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