Transnational Gangs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris will lead a delegation of state attorneys general to Mexico to strengthen working relationships between government officials in both countries and enhance efforts to combat transnational crime. The delegation will meet with Mexican state attorneys general and federal officials to discuss the issues of drug, human and firearms trafficking, financial crimes and cybercrimes. 

“The fight against transnational crime requires a unified response across state and international borders,” Attorney General Harris said. “This bipartisan delegation of attorneys general will travel to Mexico to strengthen the cross-border coordination and communication that is vital to ending this violent, insidious issue. I thank my colleagues for joining me to address this serious threat to California and the United States.”

The delegation trip is a result of work by the Attorneys General Consortium to Fight Transnational Organized Crime, and is organized with the assistance of the Conference of Western Attorneys General.

The attorneys general will travel to Mexico City from March 24 through the 26. The delegation includes California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and New Mexico Attorney General Gary King.

The attorneys general will meet with Mexican state and federal officials to discuss mutual cooperation in areas of technology, information sharing and prosecution coordination.

Specifically, the delegation will meet with government officials to increase mutual strategic support to combat the problems of international money laundering, intellectual property violations and distribution of counterfeit goods, and the adoption of technology to combat human trafficking, cybercrime and child pornography distribution.

The delegation will meet with:

• Mexico Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam
• President of the National Banking Commission Jaime Gonzalez Aguade
• Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo
• General Director of the Mexico Institute of Industrial Property Miguel Margain
• State attorneys general from Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Campeche, Distrito Federal, Zacatecas and Jalisco

Before leading the delegation to Mexico, Attorney General Harris will:

• Meet with federal officials on Tuesday, March 18 to tour the San Ysidro Port of Entry—the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere and a hotspot for the importation of illegal narcotics.
• Release a comprehensive report on Thursday, March 20 detailing the current impact of transnational criminal organizations on California. The report will also include recommendations to address the threat of transnational crime in our state.

Details on these two events to follow via Media Advisory.

“Education and collaboration is key to the success of government organizations,” said Nevada Attorney General Masto. “I am honored to assist in exchanging information about practices on human trafficking, drugs, and organized crime.”

“It's an honor to continue assisting our Mexican peers as they work to transition their justice system,” said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. “These meetings allow us to share best practices that advance key law enforcement priorities related to transnational organized crime.”

“It is important for New Mexico that I continue our long established working relationship with Mexico to improve border security; combat drug and human trafficking; reduce border violence, and other issues.  I remain committed to ensuring that New Mexico continues to be a leader in efforts to make our borderlands safer and improve the quality of life on both sides,” New Mexico Attorney General King said.

Last year, Attorney General Harris convened a meeting of western Attorneys General to propose the creation of a working group to combat transnational crime. This working group, the Attorneys General Consortium to Fight Transnational Organized Crime, is currently coordinating state-level policy leadership on civil and criminal enforcement strategies against transnational crime by creating uniform legislation that allows bringing civil forfeiture actions against traffickers and focusing on threats from specific transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The group is also coordinating regular data and intelligence-sharing on TCO activity that includes the creation of an inventory of the work that state offices are doing and identifying areas where mutual assistance could strengthen investigations.

In 2012, Attorney General Harris and then-Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez signed an accord agreeing to expand prosecutions and secure convictions of criminals who engage in human trafficking. The agreement also included an increase in coordination of law enforcement resources targeting transnational gangs across the California-Mexico border.

In 2012, Attorney General Harris also released a report, The State of Human Trafficking in California, at a symposium also attended by then-Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez. The report outlined the growing prevalence of the crime of human trafficking in California, the increasing involvement of sophisticated transnational gangs in perpetrating the crime, and the modern technologies that traffickers use to facilitate it. That report is available here: http://www.oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking/2012. 

Note: Credentialed media interested in covering the delegation should contact Attorney General Harris’ press office at 415-703-5837 or Nicholas.pacilio@doj.ca.gov.

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of four individuals, including suspected Sureños gang members, and the seizure of an estimated $2 million in marijuana during a California Department of Justice raid of a marijuana growing operation in Sacramento County.

The arrests represent the culmination of a month-long investigation by Special Agents with the California Department of Justice. Agents seized more than 7,000 marijuana plants and 100 pounds of processed marijuana with an estimated street value of $2 million. Two 12-gauge shotguns and one .22 caliber semi automatic handgun were also seized.

“These armed gang members are learning the hard way that operating a massive, illegal drug operation on state property is a very bad idea,” Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said. “I commend the men and women of the California Department of Justice for their continuing efforts to identify and dismantle illegal and dangerous operations like this one.”

In May, California Department of Justice agents began an investigation into suspected members of the Sureño gang in Tulare County who they believed were involved in an illegal marijuana growing operation. The investigation led agents the state-owned Stone Lakes Preserve in Sacramento County, which contained a large-scale illegal marijuana growing, processing and packaging operation.

In a raid on Tuesday, agents arrested Anthony Uasiarez, 34, and Ruben Guzman, 18, both from Mexico, and Jorge Vargas Garcia, 22, and Jose Estrada, 23, both from Tulare County. Garcia and Estrada are suspected Sureños gang members. 

The suspects have been booked into the Sacramento County Jail and face charges that include possession of marijuana for sale, cultivation of marijuana, conspiracy and being armed in the commission of a felony. The four individuals are being held on $500,000 bail each. 

The Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team (MAVMIT) led the operation and was assisted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. MAVMIT is an investigation team focused on illegal marijuana-related cases.

Photos of items seized during Tuesday’s operation are attached to the electronic version of this press release at http://oag.ca.gov/news.

The charges in the complaints are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today released The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012. The report outlines the growing prevalence of the crime of human trafficking in the state, the increasing involvement of sophisticated transnational gangs in perpetrating the crime and the modern technologies that traffickers use to facilitate it.

Attorney General Harris released the report at the Human Trafficking Leadership Symposium, hosted by the University of Southern California in partnership with Humanity United. Leaders from law enforcement, victim service groups, non-government organizations and other groups convened to discuss the report and consider best practices in the fight against forced labor and sex trafficking. U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez provided keynote remarks at the symposium.

“Human trafficking is a growing threat because criminal organizations have determined it is a low-risk, high-reward crime. We are here to change that calculus,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. “We must counter the ruthlessness of human traffickers with our resolve, innovation and collaboration. Law enforcement must continue to get trained, gather data and work to shut down the human trafficking operations in our state.”

California law enforcement and service providers have committed to cracking down on this rapidly-evolving crime. The report finds that from mid-2010 to mid-2012, California’s nine regional anti-human trafficking task forces provided training to 25,591 law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim service providers and other first responders. During the same period, the task forces identified 1,277 victims, initiated 2,552 investigations, and arrested 1,798 individuals for the crime. California – the nation’s most populous and diverse state and the world’s ninth largest economy – is one of the nation’s top four destination states for trafficking human beings. Despite public perception, 72 percent of trafficked human beings in the state cite the United States as their country of origin, with the remainder coming from foreign countries.

The report also describes the evolving challenges California faces in addressing this crime, which has become a $32 billion-a-year global industry. Among the key findings in the report, organized criminal networks and street gangs are increasingly responsible for trafficking persons into and throughout the state. The prevailing wisdom among these criminals is that human trafficking is more profitable and has a lower risk of being detected than drug trafficking. In addition, new innovations in technology make it possible for traffickers to recruit victims and perpetrate their crimes online. However, technology is also key to successful enforcement as the Internet, social media and mobile devices provide new avenues for identifying perpetrators, reaching out to victims and raising public awareness about human trafficking.

Attorney General Harris earlier this year convened a Human Trafficking Work Group to update the first Human Trafficking in California report, released in 2007 by the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force, as a result of the state’s first anti-trafficking law (AB 22, Lieber). Attorney General Harris was a co-sponsor of AB22 and participated in the 2007 Task Force as San Francisco’s District Attorney and the representative of the California District Attorney’s Association. The 2012 Work Group included more than 100 representatives of state, local and federal law enforcement, state government agencies, victim service providers, nonprofit groups, technology companies and educational institutions. The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012 reflects the Work Group discussions held during three day-long meetings in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as supplemental research and investigation by the California Department of Justice.

Releasing the report on the current state of human trafficking is one of the steps Attorney General Harris has taken to combat the crime. In October, Attorney General Harris and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez signed an accord to help expand prosecutions and secure convictions of criminals who engage in the trafficking of human beings. In June, Attorney General Harris partnered with the Polaris Project and Yahoo! to help get human trafficking victims access to resources via sponsored search results displayed to potential victims of the crime. In 2011, Attorney General Harris joined the National Association of Attorneys General in calling on Backpage.com to shut down its adult services section, which had been used to facilitate sex trafficking.

Attorney General Harris also sponsored two new anti-trafficking laws, Assembly Bill 2466, by Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley), which ensures that criminal defendants involved in human trafficking will not dispose of assets that would otherwise be provided as restitution to victims; and Senate Bill 1133, by Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), which expands the list of assets that a human trafficker must forfeit and provides a formula for using those resources to help victims of human trafficking. Both laws will take effect on January 1, 2013.

Key Highlights from The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012 

• From mid-2010 to mid-2012, California’s nine regional human trafficking task forces identified 1,277 victims, initiated 2,552 investigations, and arrested 1,798 individuals.

• In the same two-year period, California’s task forces provided training to 25,591 law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other first responders. Several non-governmental organizations have also trained judicial officers, airport personnel, social service providers, pro bono attorneys, and retail businesses, among others. The variety of individuals who have been trained underscores the perva­siveness of human trafficking and the important role that governmental and non-govern­mental actors play in detecting trafficking and assisting victims.

• 72 percent of human trafficking victims whose country of origin was identified by California’s task forces are American. The public perception is that human trafficking victims are from other countries, but data from California’s task forces indicate that the vast majority are Americans.

• Labor trafficking is under-reported and under-investigated as compared to sex trafficking. 56 percent of victims who received services through California’s task forces were sex trafficking victims. Yet, data from other sources indicate that labor trafficking is 3.5 times as prevalent as sex trafficking worldwide.

• Local and transnational gangs are increasingly trafficking in human beings be­cause it is a low-risk and high, renewable profit crime. It is critical for federal, state, and local law enforcement and labor regulators to collaborate across jurisdictions to disrupt and dismantle these increasingly sophisticated, organized criminal networks.

• A vertical prosecution model run outside routine vice operations can help law enforcement better protect victims and improve prosecutions. Fostering expertise about human trafficking within a law enforcement agency and handling these cases outside routine vice operations can prevent erroneously viewing trafficking victims as perpetrators.

• Early and frequent collaboration between law enforcement and victim service providers helps victims and prosecutors. Victims who receive immediate and compre­hensive assistance are more likely to help bring their traffickers to justice.

• Traffickers are reaching more victims and customers by recruiting and advertising online. Traffickers use online advertising and Internet-enabled cell phones to access a larger client base and create a greater sense of anonymity. Law enforcement needs the training and tools to investigate trafficking online.

• Technology is available to better identify, reach, and serve victims. Tools like search-term-triggered messages, website widgets, and text short codes enable groups to find victims online, connect them with services, and encourage the general public to report human trafficking.

• Alert consumers need more tools to leverage their purchasing power to reduce the demand for trafficking. Public and private organizations are just beginning to create web-based and mobile tools to increase public awareness and educate consumers about how to help combat human trafficking.

Human trafficking involves the recruitment, smuggling, transporting, harboring, buying, or selling of a person for purposes of exploitation, prostitution, domestic servitude, sweatshop labor, migrant work, agricultural labor, peonage, bondage or involuntary servitude. While human trafficking often involves the smuggling of human beings across international borders, numerous Americans are trafficked around the United States ever year. Human trafficking strips people, especially women and children, of their freedom and violates our nation’s promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights.

For more information on the trafficking of human beings and to view the report online, go to www.oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking.

LOS ANGELES -- California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez today signed an accord to expand prosecutions and secure convictions of criminals who engage in the trafficking of human beings.

The accord will increase coordination of law enforcement resources targeting transnational gangs that engage in the sale and trafficking of human beings across the California-Mexico border. The accord calls for closer integration on human trafficking investigations between the two offices and the sharing of best practices for law enforcement to recognize instances of human trafficking and provide support and services to victims. Prosecutors from the two offices today held the second of a series of meetings to implement the initiative.

"California and Mexico are together taking steps to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks that traffic human beings into our state as if they were just another commodity," said Attorney General Harris. "Targeting transnational gangs is a vital component of our efforts to protect public safety in California."

Human trafficking is estimated to be a $32 billion global industry and the world’s third most profitable criminal enterprise behind drugs and arms trafficking. The United States Department of State estimates that between 14,000 and 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the country each year. The National Human Trafficking Hotline and Resource Center received more than 54,000 calls between 2007 and 2011, with more than 15 percent originating from California.

"Criminal trafficking organizations are among the most dangerous threats that we confront and they are drawn to the trafficking of human beings by the high profit and low risk," said Attorney General Harris. "If we aim to be smart on crime, we have to change that calculus. Our goal is to disrupt trafficking networks, increase convictions and force these international traffickers away from our borders."

Earlier this month, Attorney General Harris announced the arraignment on drug trafficking charges of six individuals with suspected links to the La Familia and Sinaloa cartels. Together, these two busts resulted in the seizure of more than 43 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of nearly $2 million.

Attorney General Harris has made the fight against human trafficking a career priority. The Justice Department is preparing an update to California’s Human Trafficking Report, which, in part, will examine the human trafficking activities of transnational gangs in California. This report is an update of a 2007 report mandated by the California Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2005, which was sponsored by then-District Attorney Harris and first made human trafficking a felony in California.

In June, Attorney General Harris partnered with Yahoo! and the Polaris Project to direct users to the national human trafficking hotline whenever certain terms related to human trafficking are searched through Yahoo!. The goal of the initiative is to identify more victims of human trafficking by connecting survivors and community members to resources and support.

In addition, two bills sponsored by Attorney General Harris have been sent to Governor Edmund G. Brown for his signature. Assembly Bill 2466 (Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield) ensures that criminal defendants involved in human trafficking will not dispose of assets that would otherwise be provided as restitution to victims, and Senate Bill 1133 (Senator Mark Leno) expands the list of assets that a human trafficker must forfeit and provides a formula for using those resources to help victims of human trafficking.

For more information on human trafficking, visit www.oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking.

MORENO VALLEY -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arraignment of two men who were arrested in possession of 18 pounds of methamphetamine, as well as four handguns, three assault rifles and a .50 caliber sniper rifle. The individuals are believed to be associates of the La Familia cartel in Michoacan, Mexico.

“The fight against transnational gangs continues to be a priority for the California Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. “These arrests are another example of the hard work and dedication of our agents in the continued effort to stop the trafficking of guns, drugs and human beings throughout our state.”

Jesus Espinoza, 25, of San Diego and Jose Manuel Guizar-Gaytan, 25, of Mexico, were arraigned today in Riverside County Superior Court on two felony counts each of possession of methamphetamine for sale and possession of methamphetamine with a loaded firearm and three felony counts each of possession of an assault weapon, possession of an assault rifle and possession of any .50 BMG (sniper) rifle. Both defendants pled not guilty, and bail was set at $500,000 for each.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case because the defendants were arrested in the City of Moreno Valley. The investigation was conducted by the Attorney General’s Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA).

On September 14, INCA agents received information about a home in Moreno Valley that contained methamphetamine and weapons. INCA agents, along with deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, contacted Espinoza and Guizar-Gaytan at the residence. INCA agents obtained a search warrant for the residence, two vehicles and a public storage locker associated with the location. As a result of the search warrant, agents seized approximately 18 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of more than  $832,000, four handguns, three assault rifles and a .50 caliber sniper rifle. Both men were arrested without incident and booked into the Riverside County Jail.

These arrests are the latest in a series of successful DOJ-led investigations targeting transnational gang crime across California. Earlier this month DOJ agents seized $1.1 million worth of methamphetamine from the Sinaloa Cartel (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-seizure-11-million-worth).

The California Department of Justice provides a wide range of investigative skills and forensic resources. INCA is one of 28 state Department of Justice-led task forces that work with local enforcement partners to respond to our state’s growing gang and drug trafficking problems.

The Attorney General’s INCA Task Force is comprised of: the Beaumont Police Department, the California Department of Justice, the Calexico Police Department, the California Alcoholic Beverage Control, the California Highway Patrol, the Corona Police Department, the San Bernardino Police Department, the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the Murrieta Police Department.

Photos of the guns and methamphetamine seized are attached to the electronic version of this press release at http://oag.ca.gov/news.

RIVERSIDE -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arraignment of four men who attempted to sell 25 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of more than $1.1 million to an undercover task force agent. The narcotics are believed to have been imported from the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.

“Transnational gangs are a real and present danger in California and a priority for Department of Justice agents,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. “We must continue and extend our crackdown on these transnational gangs and their trafficking of guns, drugs and human beings throughout our state.”

Juan Martin Ramirez, 22, of Inglewood, Carlos Javier Martinez-Sequeira, 43, and Jose Manuel Chaidez, 25, of Hawthorne, and Jesus Manuel Landeros, 42, of Phoenix, Arizona were arraigned today in Riverside County Superior Court on two felony counts of possession of methamphetamine for sale and transportation of a controlled substance.  All four defendants pled not guilty, and bail was set for each at $1 million.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case because the defendants were arrested in the City of Corona, where they allegedly sold methamphetamine to an undercover agent.  The investigation was conducted by the Attorney General’s Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA). 

On September 12, 2012, an INCA undercover agent negotiated the purchase of 25 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $1,135,000 from a transnational gang.  The four men delivered the methamphetamine to the awaiting undercover officer in a hotel parking lot in Corona.  All four men were arrested without incident and booked into the Riverside County Jaill.

These arrests are the latest in a series of successful DOJ-led investigations targeting transnational gang crime across California. In October, DOJ agents seized $5 million worth of cocaine from the Guadalajara cartel (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-seizure-5-million-worth-cocaine).  In November 2011, the INCA Task Force seized $18 million worth of cocaine from the Sinaloa cartel (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-seizure-18-million-worth-cocaine).

In responding to transnational gang crime in California, the state Department of Justice provides a wide range of investigative skills and forensic resources. INCA is one of 28 Department of Justice-led task forces that works with local enforcement partners to respond to our state’s growing gang and drug trafficking problems.

The Attorney General’s INCA Task Force is comprised of:  the Beaumont Police Department, the California Department of Justice/Bureau of Investigation, the Calexico Police Department, the California Alcoholic Beverage Control, the California Highway Patrol, the Corona Police Department, the San Bernardino Police Department, the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the Murrieta Police Department.

SAN JOSE -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the arrest of 12 individuals involved in a Bay Area heroin trafficking ring by the Department of Justice-led South Bay Metro Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI).

State and federal investigators arrested 12 suspects and seized 9 guns and small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine today, as a result of a long-term investigation called “Operation Middle Man.”

The execution of the search and arrest warrants today marks the culmination of a two and half year investigation dubbed “Operation Middle Man” because the initial targets identified during the case were found to be mid-level operatives. Those suspects ultimately led authorities to Carlos Jose Moreno, the suspected head of a transnational criminal drug trafficking organization.

“Transnational gangs have become a top public safety threat as they increasingly traffic guns, drugs and human beings into California,” said Attorney General Harris. “I commend the members of the South Bay Metro Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations for their work in identifying and arresting these gang-affiliated suspects”

The operation is part of an ongoing effort by Attorney General Harris designed to attack gang violence and transnational gangs. The South Bay Metro Task Force is one of 28 California Department of Justice led task forces that coordinate the response to our state’s growing gang and drug trafficking problems. Operation Middle Man was initiated to disrupt and dismantle the Santa Clara County-based Carlos Jose Moreno drug trafficking organization (DTO), and to arrest and prosecute its members.

“By combining our resources, authorities and expertise, we’ve succeeded in dismantling a drug ring suspected of funneling significant quantities of heroin into the Bay Area and onto our streets,” said Clark Settles, special agent in charge for ICE HSI San Francisco. “This case shows yet again why federal and state collaboration is crucial to promoting public safety and protecting the welfare of our communities.”

“This multi-jurisdictional investigation is one example of our successful efforts to dismantle violent drug trafficking organizations that threaten our community,” said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey F. Rosen.

Utilizing undercover officers and other investigative techniques, agents purchased more than three pounds of heroin. The investigations targeted Carlos Jose Moreno, a large-scale heroin and methamphetamine distributor in the San Jose, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto and Redwood City areas. Moreno’s DTO imported narcotics through international and national drug trafficking sources for the purpose of redistributing the drugs through California and the United States. The heroin was imported from sources in Mexico, while the crystal methamphetamine was manufactured in the Central Valley area of California. The Moreno DTO is comprised of Norteño gang members with connections to Mexico.

During the operation, which began in December 2009, agents served 12 state arrest warrants and six state search warrants in the East Palo Alto, Hayward and Oakland areas. To date, the investigation has resulted in 12 arrests, and seizure of 9 guns (three shotguns, three rifles and three handguns), and small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine. Those arrested during Tuesday’s operation will be booked into the Santa Clara County Jail and face state charges ranging from conspiracy, residential burglary, firearms sales, sale of methamphetamine and heroin and gang enhancements. They include:

Jose Izabel Moreno of Palo Alto, DOB: 4/2/1986; Pearl Moreno of Palo Alto, DOB: 3/17/85; Johnny Chavez of Palo Alto, DOB: 3/5/1991; Pedro Chavez Chavez of Mexico, DOB: 6/17/1975; Jose Arreguin of Palo Alto, DOB: 4/5/1991; Daniel Macias of Mexico, DOB: 2/4/1989; Jose Macias of Palo Alto, DOB: 3/28/1987; Carlos Moreno, DOB: 8/3/1983: Elizabeth Kovac of Palo Alto, DOB: 5/25/1988; Joventino Lopez-Ortiz of Palo Alto, DOB: 9/5/1993; Victor Hernandez of Palo Alto, DOB: 1/8/1989; and Edgar Enrique Bustos of Palo Alto, DOB: 3/4/1994.

Photos of weapons seized during today’s operation are attached to the electronic form of this press release at www.oag.ca.gov.

The investigation is a collaborative effort led by California Department of Justice, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and assisted by, Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office, and San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force.

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the seizure yesterday of 18.5 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated $1.85 million as part of a Department of Justice-led operation that targeted the Sinaloa cartel.

“This operation is an example of the complex and multi-jurisdictional work that Department of Justice agents do every day to keep California safe,” Attorney General Harris said. “I commend these agents for their bravery and professional excellence.”

Department of Justice special agents from the Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) conducted an undercover sting operation into the cartel’s drug trafficking activities. Working with a confidential informant, an undercover agent arranged to purchase cocaine from an individual associated with the Sinaloa cartel, which operates in Baja California. Yesterday, at a prearranged meeting in a hotel parking lot in Colton, agents arrested two men and seized 18.5 kilos of cocaine.

Juan Mora Flores, 40, of Tecate, Mexico and Jose Vega Diaz, 47, of Whittier, CA, were arrested and booked at the Riverside County Jail. Both men are being held on $1 million bail.

The operation is the latest in a series of successful DOJ-led operations targeting transnational gangs across California. In June, DOJ agents led a multi-agency operation that led to the arrests of 101 transnational gang members in the Central Valley (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2512&y=&m=). In July, agents seized 18 kilos of cocaine from a vehicle that crossed the border at the Calexico port of entry http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2538&y=&m=). In August, the DOJ dismantled a large-scale U.S.-Mexico prescription drug trafficking operation. (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2553&y=&m=).

In responding to transnational gang crime in California, the state Department of Justice provides a wide range of investigative skills and forensic resources. The Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) is one of 52 California Department of Justice-led task forces that coordinate the response to our state’s growing gang and drug trafficking problems.

The Attorney General’s INCA Task Force is composed of the following agencies: Beaumont Police Department, California Alcohol Beverage and Control, California Highway Patrol, Corona Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Murrieta Police Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside Police Department and the San Bernardino Police Department.

A photo of the seized narcotics is attached to the electronic version of this release, which can be viewed at http://oag.ca.gov/.

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the seizure last week of more than 50 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated $5 million as part of a Department of Justice-led undercover operation targeting the Guadalajara Cartel, an organization that smuggles large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine into California.

Department of Justice special agents from the Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) conducted an undercover sting operation into the cartel’s drug trafficking activities. An undercover agent arranged to purchase cocaine from two individuals associated with the cartel. Last Thursday, at a prearranged meeting in a parking lot in Bellflower, agents arrested the two men and seized 42 kilos of cocaine. The Long Beach Police Department assisted the task force by serving a search warrant at a stash house in Bell Gardens, and seized an additional 9 kilos of cocaine and approximately $39,500 in drug proceeds.

Giovani Flores-Arias of Sinaloa, Mexico and Rene Guerrero of Indio, CA, were arrested and booked at the Long Beach Police Department. Flores is being held without bail and Guerrero is being held on $2 million bail. If convicted, the men each face a maximum of 25 years in state prison.

Some of the cocaine – which has an estimated street value of $5.1 million – was slated to be transported across the country for distribution. Previously, agents seized 22 pounds of methamphetamine from the Guadalajara drug cartel.

The operation is the latest in a series of successful DOJ-led operations targeting transnational gang crime across California. In June, DOJ agents led a multi-agency operation that led to the arrests of 101 transnational gang leaders and members in the Central Valley (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2512&y=&m=). In July, agents seized 18 kilos of cocaine from a vehicle that crossed the border at the Calexico port of entry (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2538&y=&m=). In August, the DOJ dismantled a large-scale U.S.-Mexico prescription drug trafficking operation (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2553&y=&m=).

In responding to transnational gang crime in California, the state Department of Justice provides a wide range of investigative skills and forensic resources. The Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA) is one of 52 California Department of Justice-led task forces that coordinate the response to our state’s growing gang and drug trafficking problems.

The Attorney General’s INCA Task Force is composed of the following agencies: Beaumont Police Department, California Alcohol Beverage and Control, California Highway Patrol, Corona Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Murrieta Police Department, Ontario Police Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside Police Department and the San Bernardino Police Department.

A photo of the seized narcotics is attached to the electronic version of this release, which can be viewed at http://oag.ca.gov/.

GILROY -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrests of 103 individuals, the majority of whom are gang members with prior felony convictions, after an 18-month investigation by California Department of Justice agents.

The California DOJ agents, along with 150 law enforcement personnel from local, state and federal agencies, made the arrests over the last three days for crimes that included the sale of drugs, firearms, and stolen property and vehicles in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

“After noticing an increase in crime, Gilroy officials asked for help in dismantling a gang network that had set up shop in their town,” Attorney General Harris said. “DOJ agents are uniquely suited to perform the undercover work vital to building complex, multi-jurisdictional cases like this one. This community is safer because of their hard work and their partnerships with federal and local law enforcement.”

As part of the operation, undercover Department of Justice agents purchased drugs and firearms, as well as stolen property and vehicles, from gang members and others with prior felony convictions.

To date, the operation has resulted in the seizure of more than 3 pounds of methamphetamine, 28.5 grams of heroin, 4 ounces of cocaine, 34 ecstasy tablets, 10 oxycontin pills, 44 firearms, 81 stolen vehicles and stolen property.

State charges include auto theft, possession of stolen property, gun charges, burglary, sales of narcotics (heroin, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy), and gang enhancements. Some suspects are also being arrested on federal indictments.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Harris announced several gang takedowns in the Central Valley, including the arrest of 101 leaders and members of two transnational gangs operating violent criminal enterprises in Madera, Los Banos, Livingston, Merced, Atwater and Dos Palos. (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2512&y=&m=)

Nuestra Familia is one of seven prison gangs in the state. Through top-down leadership, Nuestra Familia controls illegal activities inside several prisons, as well as most of the Nortenos gangs who operate in central California – from Yuba City to Bakersfield and from Salinas to the Sierra foothills. Through links to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, these gangs move drugs, guns and human beings across the border and into communities throughout California.

The California Department of Justice, Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team (UNET) and the San Jose Regional Office were the lead investigative agencies and were supported by the Gilroy Police Department, California Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office – Northern District.