(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Since early 2011, CJNGhassmuggled hundreds of millions of dollars of drugs over the borderinto the U.S., spreading into atleast35 stateswith a sophisticated network thathas usedless populated rural areas to quietly movetons of product, a Courier Journal investigation found. The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners will continue to vigorously fight this scourge against the United States. Adkins believes the operation will have an effect on violent crime in the area and hopes it sends a message to anyone who might be involved in violence. LENOIR, NC (WBTV) - Four people were arrested on drug charges after a search at a Lenoir hotel Monday, according to police. There was a problem saving your notification. One dead following crash on Hwy. A locked padlock Phoua Khang Yang, 33, Ze Vang, 37, Mang Khang, 39, Ma Chang, 37, and Chue Yang, 37, were arrested in the sweep. PHOTOS: 22 indicted in Catawba County drug bust. You have permission to edit this article. It was Williamswho started staking outSaldana'spropertyin 2010, often watching from the woods or taking down vehicletagscoming and going. Sinclair was charged with Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Crack Cocaine within 1000 feet of a Daycare. Held annually at two sites, Governor's School East is at Meredith College in . Pearson was arrested and faces several drug charges. All three suspects were scheduled to appear in District Court today (February 14). It was a symbiotic relationship that allowed Roger Dale and Lisa Dawns drug business to thrive. During the course of this investigation a handgun was seized from Ramseur, a convicted felon. If you squash one, two more take its place, said Lt. Williams, who worked both Saldanas and Bennetts cases. Wade was convicted earlier this year of possession with intent to sell a schedule II controlled substance and larceny of a motor vehicle, both felony charges, according to a records search on the. An official website of the United States government. We would get out of the car and the Mexican guys that we never met put the drugs in the car and picked up the money and walked away, Lisa Dawn said. Additionally, DEA has worked with its interagency partners to apply further pressure to CJNG. The cases in Western North Carolina are the result of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). 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An episode of Bar Rescue featuring a Hickory pub will air on April 23, according to a Paramount Network representative. Hickory Police Department. Hickory drug agents uncovered about 20 kilograms of opium that they said had been imported from Thailand and distributed nationwide, police announced Thursday.The seizure and arrest of five. It sentin at leastfive trusted, high-levelcartel memberswhoset up North Carolina stash houses and front businesses in metro Charlotte, Hickory(a suburban town of about 40,000 an hour north of Charlotte)and nearby Johnson City, Tennessee,federal agents say. Hernandez-Landeiro is additionally charged with two counts of trafficking in cocaine and one count of maintaining a place for controlled substance. Alexandra Heavner. Saldana, now 50, is serving a life sentencein a Kentucky federalprison forconspiracy to distribute meth and possession of an unregistered firearm. The cartel wouldmuch rather recruit an American with a Hispanic backgrounditcan trust to move drugs than a cartel member who might not be as familiar with American culture, saidWilliams, the lead local law enforcement officer in Saldanas case. Each of the defendants could spend between 10 years and life in prison and be fined up to $10 million. Four people have been charged in one of the largest drug seizure investigations in North Carolina, according to North Wilkesboro police. A Hickory police officer and a Catawba County Sheriff Office deputy stand guard outside a house in southeast Hickory on Wednesday morning during a Drug Enforcement Agency raid. This ruthless Mexican cartel has evolved into a powerful drug syndicate that floods urban and rural communities in the Western District and throughout our nation with enormous quantities of powerful narcotics. Katelyn and Sarah Lothrop were nabbed early this . 53 handguns, 19 long rifles, and 10 shotguns were seized during the undercover operation as well as thousands of pills. His hardworking guisewas just whatCJNGwanted:Someonewithroots, a house,a joband a clean record. shooting in hickory, nc last night; ioniq 5 relaxation seats; missing girl in phoenix arizona 2021; no credit check apartments in pooler, ga; cash paying jobs long island, ny. Rob Eastwood reports for the Monday, February 13, 2023 edition of WHKY-TV News in Hickory, NC. According to Hickory Police, multiple law enforcement agencies from across the. Hernandez-Landeiro and Furlough were each charged with three counts apiece of conspire to traffic in cocaine. The roundup began at 6 AM Wednesday (Sep. 20th) and by early afternoon 44 of the 76 had been apprehended and booked into the Catawba County Jail. "The program is focused on dismantling the largest, most sophisticated drug trafficking organizations, which often are Mexican drug cartels," said Steven Kaufman, assistantU.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Across the country,the trend was similar. Hickory Daily Record city reporter Erica Dawn Hicks, 21, was arrested and charged with one count of possession with intent to manufacture, Sell or distribute methamphetamine and one count of manufacture of methamphetamine. Intelligencefrom other narcotics cases in Ashe County landed Saldana onauthorities radar around 2008. Investigators believe the opium was refined into heroin at the next stop, LaCarter said. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. HICKORY, N.C. - Nearly two dozen people were indicted in a drug trafficking bust in Catawba County this week. People liked what we had. The ETGC, described by officials as a "nationally recognized criminal street gang" originating in Los Angeles, has operated in North Carolina and the state prison system for nearly two decades. And CJNG will be there with their endless supply. U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of North Carolina, Six Defendants Have Been Prosecuted in Western North Carolina in 2020, DEA-Led Operation Nets More Than 600 Arrests Targeting Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Previously Convicted Methamphetamine And Fentanyl Dealer Is Sentenced To 12+ Years In Prison, Last Defendant In Methamphetamine Trafficking Ring Is Sentenced To More Than 15 Years In Prison, Methamphetamine Wholesaler Is Sentenced To More Than 15 Years In Prison. (WSOC) LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. 21 people were charged Monday following a 16 month-long undercover drug operation by the Lincoln County Sheriff's . Jose Velasquez, 35, a Mexican national residing in Charlotte, N.C., has been charged with drug trafficking conspiracy; international money laundering; possession with intent to distribute heroin; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Bennett andNunnenkampwereamong severalmajormethtraffickerswho operatedout of this cluster of North Carolina counties, drivenbythe explosion of meth into the regionfrom CJNG and other cartels. More than 100,000 people across the country died of overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021. Mar 7, 2014 Mar 7, 2014 Updated May 7, 2015; 0; Longveiw Police Captain Robert Huhta, middle, and officer Jeremy Johnson take a woman into . All three suspects were jailed in the Catawba County Detention Facility. Each of the 16 suspects faces charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute meth, cocaine and marijuana: Four of the suspects (McIntosh, Carroll, Juan Villarreal and Raymundo Villarreal) also face charges of distribution and possession with intent to distribute meth. + Caption. Lisa Dawn recalled the night she and Roger Dale got arrested. Drug bust involving 3 Longview homes nets 8 arrests. Kachmar reviewed hundreds of pages of court records and interviewed law enforcement, attorneys and a woman convicted in one of those conspiracies. 12 avril 2023 Asheville:(828) 271-4661. A man was struck and killed in a hit-and-run collision along U.S. Highway 70 in Claremont on Thursday night. But hes in a very dangerous business. Investigative reporter Kala Kachmar and photographer Alton Strupp traveled to Charlotte and rural counties in North Carolina to find out more about drug rings connected CJNG. BOND: $10000 #2 FELONY LARCENY. All rights reserved. The 9 others arrested on state warrants were taken to the Catawba County jail and will have a first appearance before a District Court judge later this week. #1 DRUG RECOVERY COURT. At Thomas Street AME Zion church, in Conover, members feel prayers for a safer neighborhood are being answered. The Department of Justices multi-agency Special Operations Division, federal prosecutors from the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section of the Departments Criminal Division, the Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations provided invaluable support to this operation. Ive known Bones since I was 16,and I got tired of tracking him down. Twelve students from Catawba County Schools have been selected to attend the 2023 session of the prestigious North Carolina Governor's School. The single-lane street he lived on wassurrounded by woods,with only two houses in view, a single-wide and an abandoned trailer. VOD recording of FOX Carolina's The Ten O'Clock News. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Along the way, CJNG relied on residents like Roger Dale and Lisa Dawn to deal its drugs to users people who would seamlessly blend with the local community without arousing suspicion. Bennett made his connection to the cartel while he was locked up in Louisiana. That case stopped with him, but he was connected to the CJNG.. Learn more about the history of our agency atwww.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years. Officials say more arrests are possible. "If its coming from a cartel, they could have sold a pound to Asians, black guys, outlaw motorcycle gangs, white trash, said Ashe County Sheriffs Lt. Jeremy Williams, whose testimony helped convict a trafficker connected to CJNGin 2014. And the investigation isnt over. More than 100 grams of fentanyl is off the streets following a major drug bust in Haywood County. And with Project Python, we are delivering results in the face of that threat for the American people., Project Python is the single largest strike by U.S. authorities against CJNG, and this is just the beginning, said Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon. In exchange for her testimony against Bennett, Woody pleaded guiltyto possession with intent to distribute meth. Frustrated by three-hour holdups for a quarter-bag of crystal meth delivered by a man folks called Bones, the couple from Lenoir, North Carolina,started thinking about alternativesin thewinterof2013. papaya in spanish drug bust hickory, nc. It was named for Sir George Carteret, one of the 17th century English Lords Proprietor, or for his descendant and heir John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. CJNG is one of the fastest growing transnational criminal organizations in Mexico, and among the most prolific methamphetamine producers in the world. HJORT, ARTHUR MORGAN | 2023-04-11 17:18:00 Carteret County, North Carolina Booking. ', Four women killed in U.S. 52 wreck in Winston-Salem early Sunday, Small plane crashes, 1 fatality reported, in south Guilford County, Greensboro considers banning plastic bags for yard waste pick-up, UPDATE: Mother kills three children, then herself in murder-suicide in Winston-Salem, Pedestrian hit, killed on West Gate City Boulevard in Greensboro on Saturday, Update: Eastbound lanes of I-40 reopen after crash, Bicyclist dies from injuries after being struck Tuesday night in High Point, police say, Republicans vote to censure Goebel, still mulling options on District 3 school board seat. The efforts highlighted in the more than 600 arrests nationwide are illustrative of the significant reach the CJNG has in manufacturing, importing and distributing a wide array of illegal narcotics within the United States and the negative impact on the fabric of our local communities. Today, DEA has disrupted CJNGs operations, and there is more to come as DEA continues its relentless attack on this remorseless criminal organization.. Afterspending more than two years in federal prison,Lisa Dawn recalled the absurd lifestyleshe and Roger Dale had while running their small-town empire. The investigation included the arrest of street level and major drug dealers throughout Robeson County, according to the sheriff's office. The round up of suspects came during the second day of the fall revival. She is in jail under a $415,000 secured bond. 10.5 grams of cocaine. Mexican drug lord's super cartel infiltrates US small towns, How a Mexican cartel turned a rural area into a hidden cocaine hub, One mistake trapped a desperate dad in a Mexican drug cartel's web. "We're taking drug enforcement to a new level in Lenoir," said Chief Scott Brown. lee county contractor complaints; boch center wang theatre seating view; . In 2020, within Western North Carolina, six defendants have been prosecuted to date, in connection with the initiative: Project Python marks the most comprehensive action to date in the Department of Justices campaign to disrupt, dismantle, and ultimately destroy CJNG, said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Criminal Division. Recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that over the last year, the crisis grew even worse. Investigators seized opium with an estimated value of $4 million in what they say is the biggest bust of its kind in state history. The proceeds from the local distribution of these narcotics are repatriated back to Mexico and further fuel transnational organized criminal organizations such as the CJNG. Nunnenkamp,now 46,toldpolice he helped distributenearly 8pounds of meth at $20,000 a pound at Bennetts direction and helped count and package $120,000 to pay for more shipments from the Texas supplier. "It wasnt even the money. This strategic and coordinated project exemplifies DEAs mission: to disrupt, dismantle, and destroy drug trafficking organizations around the world and bring their leaders to justice. Chris LaCarter said. You can cancel at any time. Not sure where the 17 came from, but 76 is the number of individuals the Catawba County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force was seeking in its latest massive drug bust. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Food truck park opens in Hickory; four flagship trucks see permanent spot as plus for business. Have a question about Government Services? October 29, 2020 at 1:04 pm EDT. Limestone professor talks about developments in 2024 presidential race, Upstate group remembers Holocaust victims, Mauldins Maverick Yards project will be the catalyst for a future city center, kelli.radcliff@foxcarolina.com - 864-213-2103. HICKORY Federal, state and local law enforcement conducted an anti-drug operation this week that resulted in charges against 16 people. During the course of this investigation a handgun was seized from Ramseur, a convicted felon. Interviewed law enforcement partners will continue to vigorously fight this scourge against United... Bones since I was 16, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices Task. A $ 415,000 secured bond ; s School East is at Meredith College in I was,. Were scheduled to appear in District Court today ( February 14 ) Task (. 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