Twenty Charged in Chicago with Various Drug Trafficking Offenses, Including Five Allegedly Tied to the Mexican -Zetas- Cartel

More than $12 million and 250 kilograms of cocaine seized during the investigation CHICAGO Twenty defendants are facing federal narcotics charges here, including five alleged members of a Chicago-based cell of the Zetas Mexican drug cartel who were responsible for transporting millions of dollars in drug proceeds between Chicago and Mexico. A joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation resulted in the charges, as well as accumulated seizures during 2010 of more than $12.4 million cash and approximately 250 kilograms of cocaine in the Chicago area. An additional $480,000 cash and two kilograms of heroin were seized yesterday. Federal agents yesterday executed simultaneous arrests in the Chicago area and in Laredo, Texas, of defendants stemming from the multi-jurisdiction investigation of drug-trafficking and the flow of its narcotics proceeds. Twelve of the 20 defendants indicted in Chicago were arrested in Chicago and a 13th in Laredo. The 20 Chicago defendants were charged in five separate indictments that were returned by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2 and unsealed following the arrests. The 12 Chicago defendants arrested here yesterday appeared in U.S. District Court and remain in federal custody pending detention hearings. Five defendants remain fugitives; one was already in federal custody and another is hospitalized. Yesterdays seizures of cash and heroin occurred during the arrests and execution of search warrants at the residence of one defendant in Bellwood and another defendants residence in Bolingbrook, as well as a safe deposit box. All 20 Chicago defendants were charged with various narcotics offenses, including conspiracy to possess and distribute quantities of cocaine and using a telephone to facilitate narcotics trafficking. The five alleged members of the money transportation cell were also charged with conspiracy to transfer narcotics proceeds outside the United States. If convicted, 12 defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine, while the remaining eight defendants face a mandatory minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The money transportation conspiracy carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine of twice the value of the money involved. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The prosecutions were coordinated with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas, and federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas also assisted in the investigation. The Illinois Attorney Generals Office conducted a separate but related investigation that resulted in the arrest of eight defendants on state narcotics charges last week in Galesburg, Ill. The federal investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High-Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA). One indictment alleges that defendant Eduardo Trevino, a fugitive believed to reside in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, directed a money transportation network for the Zetas from Nuevo Laredo, and that this network coordinated the transfer of money from places such as Chicago to Laredo, and then from Laredo to Mexico. At the direction of the Zetas, defendant Salvador Estrada allegedly collected, processed and concealed cash from the sale of drugs so that the narcotics proceeds could be transported by truck drivers, including defendants Miguel Arredondo and Vicente Casares, from Chicago to Laredo, knowing that the proceeds would be transported to the Zetas in Mexico. Defendant Juan Aguirre allegedly worked with the others to coordinate the delivery of cash proceeds to truck drivers. Estrada allegedly identified and maintained safe houses where drug proceeds were secretly collected, packaged and concealed, such as 1241 South Wenonah Ave., Berwyn, and 3800 West 24th St., Chicago. According to the indictment, the following seizures, totaling $12,452,685, were made during the course of the investigation: $9,428,950, from the 24 th Street stash house on April 30, 2010; $2,000,010, also on April 30, 2010; $999,310, on May 27, 2010; and $24,415, on Dec. 18, 2010, along with a Mosberg 100 ATR .308 rifle and a Colt .22 semi-automatic handgun. The 14-count indictment against Trevino and the five alleged Chicago cell members seeks forfeiture of approximately $13 million, including the $12.45 million seized previously. Five of the six (named above) were charged with conspiracy to transport narcotics proceeds outside the United States. Together with defendant, Aureliano Montoya-Pena, all six were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and various other narcotics offenses. The other four indictments charge the remaining 14 defendants with various narcotics distribution offenses. The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.