TIJUANA — Mexican soldiers searching a vehicle in Tijuana’s upscale Cumbres de Juárez neighborhood seized more than $15.3 million in U.S. currency,
authorities announced Tuesday. They said the cash belonged to the powerful Sinaloa cartel, which is headed by Joaquín “Chapo” Guzmán.
Soldiers assigned to Baja California’s Second Military Zone carried out the operation Friday, authorities said. The troops also found more than six
pounds of cocaine, four weapons and jewelry, according to a statement issued by Mexico’s Defense Ministry.
No arrests were reported.
Drug traffickers had planned to take the cash to a residence described as a financial center for the Sinaloa cartel, the statement said. Authorities
instead brought the confiscated money to the Mexico City offices of SIEDO, the federal unit charged with combatting organized crime, and displayed it
at a Tuesday news conference.
Many questions remain unanswered, including whether the vehicle was on the street or inside the garage of a residence sealed Tuesday with stickers
bearing the letters PGR. The acronym stands for the federal Attorney General’s Office.
Daniel de la Rosa, the public safety secretary for Baja California, told journalists that “all of this will be made clear with the investigation” by
federal authorities.
The currency seizure operation was the Mexican military’s second largest; in 2008, soldiers seized more than $26.2 million in Culiacán, Sinaloa.
Among all law-enforcement agencies in Mexico, the record seizure came in 2007 when federal police in Mexico City confiscated $205 million.
The Sinaloa Cartel is widely acknowledged as Mexico’s largest and strongest organized-crime organization.
Guzmán is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, with a $5 million reward offered by the U.S. State Department for information leading to his
arrest.
In recent years, the Sinaloa cartel has grown into the dominant drug-trafficking group in Baja California, a region once controlled by the Arellano
Félix organization.
Last week, U.S. and Mexican authorities confiscated more than 20 tons of marijuana following the discovery of a tunnel that ran from Tijuana to Otay
Mesa. Mexican military authorities linked the passageway to the Sinaloa cartel.Ateo - 11-24-2011 at 03:34 PM
And on and on and on this war on drugs goes.....where it'll stop, nobody knows.
[Edited on 11-24-2011 by ateo]vivaloha - 11-24-2011 at 04:57 PM
I hate it when I come out of the mall and I look for my car with 15 million sitting in it and its not there...Somebody is not gonna be too happy about
this one...DENNIS - 11-24-2011 at 05:07 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by ateo
And on and on and on this war on drugs goes.....where it'll stop, nobody knows.
Since dope is a renewable resource just like guns in Mexico, it never will.CaboRon - 11-25-2011 at 07:26 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by ateo
And on and on and on this war on drugs goes.....where it'll stop, nobody knows.
Since dope is a renewable resource just like guns in Mexico, it never will.
It's the circle of lifeUdo - 11-25-2011 at 09:17 AM
A little extra cash for the Mexican Feds to spend on drug enforcement!Oddjob - 11-25-2011 at 09:23 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Udo
A little extra cash for the Mexican Feds to spend on drug enforcement!
Yeah, right.durrelllrobert - 11-25-2011 at 09:30 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by ateo
And on and on and on this war on drugs goes.....where it'll stop, nobody knows.
Since dope is a renewable resource just like guns in Mexico, it never will.
just like everything else that's green it's sustainable
