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Commercial Bus Companies Smuggling Drugs Through Out the Americas

Indicted for drug trafficking are theresident alien residing in Brookshire,
owners/operators of commercial busTexas; Miguel Montemayor, 39, a resident
companies operating from Mexico into thealien residing in Roma, Texas; Victor
Rio Grande Valley to numerous U.S.Hinojosa, 41, a resident alien residing
cities and their drivers, have beenin Houston; and Eduardo Trevino, 40, of
indicted for transporting large loads ofLinares, Mexico, as the owners/managers
marijuana and cocaine in speciallyof the various commercial bus companies
modified commercial buses and usingoperating as fronts for transporting
money laundering techniques.cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to
According to the U.S. government thevarious locations in the U.S. in
indictment, recently unsealed, describesexchange for cash payments. Â The
the use of specially modified commercialindictment goes on to say that the
buses by alleged drug traffickersamount of the payment often depended
interested in smuggling contraband intoupon the kind of drug, the size of the
the United States from Monterrey,load and its ultimate destination. For
Mexico, or transporting contraband fromexample, the indictment alleges the
the Rio Grande Valley to Houston anddefendants charge from $500 per kilogram
Dallas, Texas; Allentown, Pa.; Joliet,of cocaine bound for the U.S. side of
Ill. and elsewhere. The indictmentthe border to $7,000 per kilogram of
alleges the owners or managers of thecocaine bound for New York. The buses
Transtar, Neptune Tours, Los Primos,were specially equipped with hidden
USA-MEX and Ameri-Mex commercial buscompartments to conceal loads of
companies, with offices and terminals incontraband from detection. According to
Monterrey, Mexico and Rio Grande City,allegations in the indictment, the owner
Roma, San Antonio and Houston, Texas,managers discussed ways to operate their
used their various companies as a frontbuses to protect themselves from
for their drug transport services, anddetection by law enforcement including
hired drivers and loaders to transportchanging the names of the bus companies
the illegal cargo in hidden compartmentsas loads of cocaine and marijuana were
built into the bus or in areas notseized to claiming the buses were leased
accessible to the public. In exchangeto others. Abel Trevino, Montemayor and
for the services, the indictment allegesHinojosa were arrested today in Houston.
the owners/managers of the bus companiesA warrant remains outstanding for the
received thousands of dollars inarrest of Prado and Eduardo Trevino.
kickbacks from the proceeds of the drugLeticia Enedina Fournier, 58; Guadalupe
loads from which they drew their shareKarr Cortez, 47, an illegal alien, Jesse
and paid the drivers and loaders.Trevino, 48, a resident alien, and
According to the indictment, this drugAlejandro Carmargo-Guerra, 59, a
transport service has been in operationresident alien, all of Houston; Victor
since at least November 2001 and isRocha, 39, a resident alien residing in
responsible for transporting hundreds ofDickinson, Texas, and Enrique Alvaro
kilograms of cocaine, thousands ofSaldana, 53, a resident alien residing
pounds of marijuana from the border toin Roma, Texas, are alleged
points north and millions of dollars inco-conspirators hired by the owner
drug proceeds south to Mexico. OCEDTFmanagers as bus drivers and loaders who
Operation Road King II targeted thiswere paid by the owners/managers to
organization beginning in 2001 andtransport and deliver the drug loads
through the use of tried and truehidden aboard the commercial buses as
investigative techniques, communication,directed by the owners/managers. This
coordination and cooperation, ultimatelymorning, investigating agents arrested
established a more sophisticatedTrevino and Rocha in Houston,
undercover operation. Through thatCarmargo-Guerra in Waco, Texas, and
undercover operation, more than 570Cortez in Lake Charles, La. Warrants
kilograms of cocaine, 3,000 plus poundsremain outstanding for the arrest of
of marijuana and the thousands ofFournier and Saldana.
dollars in cash have been seized.Guadalupe Castaneda, 46, of Roma, Texas;
Additionally, this multi-agencyEduardo Cirilo, 42, of Pharr, Texas;
investigative effort has lead to arrestsEduardo Salinas, 29, of Mission, Texas;
in and the seizure of 200 kilograms ofJose Armando Muniz, 33, of Weslaco,
cocaine in Allentown and 1,100 pounds ofTexas; Rafael Armando Ramirez, 32, an
marijuana in Joliet. Informationillegal alien residing in the Houston
gathered through the investigation wasarea; Luis Larios, 36, and Robert
shared with law enforcement agencies inSalazar Rivera, 48, both of Monterrey,
other U.S. cities including New York,Mexico, are accused of utilizing and
North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee,paying for the services of the bus
Alabama, Florida and Maryland.companies to transport loads of cocaine
The indictment is the result of aand marijuana to various locations in
long-term Organized Crime Drugthe United States. Eduardo Salinas was
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)arrested this morning in McAllen, Texas,
investigation dubbed Operation Road Kingwhile Cirilo was arrested today in Baton
II.Rouge, La. Warrants remain outstanding
Âfor the arrest of Castaneda, Muniz,
John P. Walters, the Director of theRamirez, Larios and Rivera.
White House Office of National DrugAccording to the FBI all 18 defendants
Control Policy commented that theare charged in the conspiracy to possess
positive impact the coordinated andwith intent to distribute cocaine and
cooperative effort federal, state andmarijuana and face no less than 10 years
local law enforcement action has had onand a maximum of life imprisonment if
reducing the supply of drugs and theconvicted. Most of the defendants are
concomitant reduction in demand isalso charged with conspiracy to launder
impressive.drug proceeds and face a maximum of 20
Special Agent in Charge Andrew Bland ofyears imprisonment if convicted. The
FBI Houston, together with Special Agentremaining 14 counts of the indictment
in Charge Zoran B. Yankovich of DEAcharge various defendants with aiding
Houston, recognized their lawand abetting the possession with intent
enforcement colleagues in the Highto distribute varying amounts of either
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Taskcocaine for marijuana and face
Force (HIDTA) which, in this case,punishment ranges upon conviction from a
included the Houston Police Department,maximum of five years imprisonment to
Immigration and Customs Enforcementlife imprisonment and millions of
(ICE), Customs and Border Protectiondollars in fines.
(CBP), and the Texas Department ofThe indictment also serves notice on the
Public Safety (DPS) for theirdefendants of the intent of the United
long-standing commitment and outstandingStates to forfeit their interests in a
contributions to this OCDETFnumber of real properties located in
investigation. The U.S. Marshalseast Houston, Texas, which were
Service, also a member of HIDTA, wasallegedly used to facilitate or obtained
recognized for its extraordinary effortswith proceeds from the crimes alleged in
during the arrest process.the indictment.
The U.S. Justice Department indictmentsThis case will be prosecuted by
identifies Abel Trevino Jr., 43, ofAssistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Rodriguez.
Houston; Oscar Jaime Garcia Prado, 42, a



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