KALAMAZOO, Mich.--A coalition of international, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, known as "Project Reckoning," arrested 175 individuals on charges related to international drug trafficking September 16 and 17, according to an FBI press release.
"We successfully completed a hard-hitting, coordinated, and massive assault on the powerful and extremely violent Gulf Cartel," said Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.
"Project Reckoning" is a multi-agency law enforcement effort led by the DEA that targets the Gulf Cartel, an international Mexican drug trafficking cartel. It is a combination of several multi-district operations, including Operation Dos Equis, Operation Vertigo, Operation Stinger, and Operation The Family. Several international investigative agencies, including investigative agencies from Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Italy, aided U.S. officials.
The 15-month investigation to date has resulted in the arrest of 507 individuals in the U.S., Mexico, and Italy. Authorities have also seized $60.1 million in U.S. currency, 16,711 kilograms of cocaine, 1,039 pounds of methamphetamine, 19 pounds of heroin, and 51,258 pounds of marijuana. Other items seized include 176 vehicles and 167 weapons.
The Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico's largest drug traffickers, is believed to transport cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana from Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, and Mexico into the United States. The cartel is also thought to be responsible for laundering millions of dollars in criminal proceeds.
"By spreading dangerous drugs and resorting to brutal violence, international drug cartels pose an extraordinary threat both here and abroad," Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said. "Although I am pleased with the efforts so far, we cannot and will not rest on these successes."
In its most recent phase, "Project Reckoning" has also arrested and indicted the three leaders of the Gulf Cartel: Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen, Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano, and Jorge Eduardo Costilla-Sanchez. All three have been indicted in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia on charges that they conspired to import drugs into the United States from Mexico.
Individuals arrested in the operation have been charged with a variety of crimes, among them attempted murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking charges related to cocaine and marijuana. Cases are being handled in Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana, New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, New York, and in the Criminal Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Office of International Affairs.
Though this major operation has thus far been a success, official continue to work to combat drugs. As David E. Nahmias, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said, "Through our sophisticated investigation and prosecutions, we have disrupted these organizations, seized large amounts of their poisons and proceeds, and now will work hard to lock up their members for many years to come."
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