6 Illegal Immigrants Arrested for Ties to Mexican Drug Cartel and Human Trafficking
Six illegal immigrants police say are linked to a major Mexican drug cartel have been arrested in North Carolina.
Police allege that the massive drug operation being run from the Charlotte, North Carolina, area moved large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine across state lines into states such as Georgia and Texas, WSOC-TV reported.
Oscar Rangel-Gutierrez, Regulo Rangel-Gutierrez, Francisco Garcia-Martinez, Rodolfo Martinez, Raul Rangel-Gutierrez and Rigoberto Rangel-Gutierrez were arrested last week.
Oscar Rangel-Gutierrez is affiliated with the Jalisco New Generation cartel, police said.
“Members of the investigative team believe — based on wire intercepts, surveillance and other facts discovered from the investigation — that Oscar and Regulo transport illicit proceeds, derived from the sales of narcotics, when they travel from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte,” according to federal court documents, WMBF reported.
6 illegal immigrants linked to Mexican cartel arrested in NC for drug trafficking operation, officials say https://t.co/c7QdfORdpA #FoxNews
— Mike S. Adams (@MikeSAdams) February 18, 2019
An affidavit from Special Agent Timothy Bradley of Homeland Security Investigations said the group has been active since 2013.
Officials relied upon wiretaps, an informant and surveillance to map “the large scope of the Rangel-Gutierrez drug trafficking organization within the United State and beyond,” the Charlotte Observer reported.
Court papers outline a series of transactions between the informant and those charged leading up to their arrest.
On Feb. 9, the suspects drove to Houston to pick up five kilograms of cocaine, police said. They were arrested upon their return.
The arrests came as a shock to at least one neighbor of the house where police allege the drugs were stored.
“Just devastating,” neighbor Misty Joyner said. “They were good people.”
In his call for a national emergency to build a wall along America’s southern border, President Donald Trump called for tapping a fund that includes money seized from Mexican drug traffickers.
“When I spoke to President Trump on the phone a month ago, I urged him to consider using money seized from drug traffickers to secure the border and build the wall,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., according to KALB-TV.
“He said he’d take a look at it, and I applaud him for doing so. As my letter to the president pointed out, these funds are replenished every year as our law enforcement agents do their jobs, and as stronger border security improves of effectiveness of our seizures, the funds generated from those seizures will increase,” Cassidy said.
The Department of the Treasury’s Forfeiture Fund contained about $3.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2018, according to Cassidy’s letter.
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