DEA Dismantles Heroin Trafficking Cartel
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
A major heroin operation that has ties to the Ark-La-Tex has been busted wide open. "Operation black gold rush" was a DEA led international investigation targeting the importers and distributors of black tar heroin in the states. Tonight, lead investigators announced that their net has captured at least 138 suspects across several states...With more possible in the future.
The federal investigation began ten months ago with a traffic stop in the Texarkana area. A sizeable amount of heroin was discovered inside a vehicle. The investigation gained speed after the bust and the coast-to-coast drug smuggling operation was eventually uncovered. The heroin ring exploited mexicans desperate for money and a chance to get north across the border. "Illegal aliens were set up in apartments across this country and they immediately set up shot pushing black tar heroin. They pushed that heroin by preying on a vulnerable segment of our society...recovering addicts," says DEA investigator Michele Leonhart.To date, agents have seized at least 380-thousand dollars in profit from the illegal venture.
