Tag: alcohol tobacco firearms

fbi – Seventy Defendants in Helena-West Helena and Marianna Indicted in Operation Delta Blues

LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, along Valerie Parlave, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); William J. Bryant, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Grover C. Crossland, Resident Agent in Charge of the Little Rock Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Christopher A. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Nashville Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigations Division; and Colonel JR Howard, Director of the Arkansas State Police (ASP), announced today that a federal grand jury returned seven indictments charging 70 individuals, including five law enforcement officers, in the Phillips and Lee County areas. The charges include public corruption, drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearms offenses. The indictments were handed down on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, and were unsealed today following a massive roundup of the charged defendants.

The charges stem from multiple Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigations spanning more than a two-year period. The investigations, collectively referred to as “Operation Delta Blues,” primarily focused on public corruption and drug trafficking activities in the Helena-West Helena and Marianna, Arkansas areas. The United States Attorney’s Office utilized 16 court-authorized wiretaps over the course of Operation Delta Blues. Approximately 700 federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel from the FBI, DEA, IRS, ATF, ASP, Arkansas National Guard, and the Little Rock Police Department and West Memphis Police Department participated in the arrests today.

“Our commitment to eradicating drug trafficking and violent crime has never been stronger,” stated United States Attorney Christopher R. Thyer. “When these two elements are mixed with law enforcement corruption, it can make for the perfect storm in a community. It can paralyze honest law enforcement action, silence witnesses, and erode public confidence in our system of justice.” Thyer added, “These indictments and arrests signify a substantial development in what can only be classified as an ongoing investigation into public corruption, drug trafficking, and violent crime in the eastern part of our district.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Parlave followed by saying, “I am confident that today’s takedown in Operation Delta Blues will send a clear message that we are committed to rooting out public corruption, disrupting violent gang activities, and dismantling illegal drug organizations. I am honored to work alongside the Arkansas State Police, ATF, DEA, and IRS, who pulled together in an unprecedented way to execute this operation today. Our investigation remains ongoing and I encourage anyone with information to call our public corruption hotline at 501-221-8200, or e-mail: Little.Rock@ic.fbi.gov.”

DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bryant concurred, saying, “This type of investigation shows the great teamwork and commitment of the federal agencies—FBI, DEA, ATF, and IRS—and the Arkansas State Police in combating drug trafficking and public corruption in the State of Arkansas. All of these agencies combined their assets and resources to disrupt and dismantle these drug trafficking organizations and corrupt public officials.”

“Some of the best police work I’ve ever been a part of occurred when law enforcement agencies came together to share resources for a common good. As disappointing as it may be that public corruption of the worst kind was the target in this Operation, the public would expect nothing less of us than to ensure we worked together to eliminate the threat,” stated ASP Colonel Howard.

IRS Special Agent in Charge Henry added, “The role of IRS Criminal Investigations in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can financially disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations. Working alongside our law enforcement partners, IRS-CI is proud to provide our financial expertise to help make our communities safer places to live.”

The defendants who were arrested today will appear before United States Magistrate Judge Joseph J. Volpe for Plea and Arraignment on October 13, 2011, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The cases are as follows:

  • United States v. Trice, et al., Case No. 4:11CR209 JLH, pending before U.S. District Court Judge J. Leon Holmes.
  • United States v. Colbert, et al., Case No. 4:11CR210 JMM, pending before U.S. District Court Judge James M. Moody.
  • United States v. Turner, et al., Case No. 4:11CR211 JMM, pending before U.S. District Court Judge James M. Moody.
  • United States v. Hughes, et al., Case No. 4:11CR212 JLH, pending before U.S. District Court Judge J. Leon Holmes.
  • United States v. Eaton, Case No. 4:11CR213 JLH, pending before U.S. District Court Judge J. Leon Holmes.
  • United States v. Rogers, et al., Case No. 4:11CR214 BSM, pending before U.S. District Court Judge Brian S. Miller.
  • United States v. Wahls, Case No. 4:11CR215 BRW, pending before U.S. District Court Judge Bill Wilson.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office, FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS-CID, and ASP, with operational assistance from the Arkansas National Guard, the Little Rock Police Department, and the West Memphis Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julie Peters, Benecia B. Moore, and Michael Gordon.

An indictment contains only allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

TOP-SECRET from the FBI – Operation Smoking Dragon

smuggling cash
Charges against the subjects included smuggling real and phony drugs and other
contraband into the U.S. along with counterfeit $100 bills.


Operation Smoking Dragon
Dismantling an International Smuggling Ring

The judge who recently sentenced Yi Qing Chen noted that the smuggler “never saw a criminal scheme he didn’t want a part of.” The Southern California man was convicted last October of distributing methamphetamine, trafficking approximately 800,000 cases of counterfeit cigarettes, and conspiracy to import Chinese-made shoulder-fired missiles into the U.S. 

Chen is now serving a 25-year prison sentence, and his case marks the end of a long-running investigation called Operation Smoking Dragon.

The Wedding Ruse To coordinate arrests in the Operation Royal Charm case, agents came up with a clever ruse. Because many of the subjects lived outside the U.S., they were invited to a wedding aboard a yacht docked near Atlantic City, New Jersey. They were sent real invitations, but the wedding was a fake. When several of the individuals showed up for “transportation” to the ceremony, they were promptly arrested.

The Royal Charm and Smoking Dragon investigations were led by the FBI, but we had substantial assistance from partners including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the U.S. Secret Service.

Smoking Dragon and a related case in New Jersey called Operation Royal Charm led to the indictment of 87 individuals from China, Taiwan, Canada, and the U.S. The investigations uncovered—and dismantled—an international smuggling ring that could have threatened the country’s national security.

Charges against the subjects included smuggling real and phony drugs and other contraband into the U.S. along with counterfeit $100 bills—believed to have been produced in North Korea—that were so nearly perfect and so much more sophisticated than typical counterfeit currency they were dubbed “Supernotes.”

“One of the most important things about Operation Smoking Dragon was that it demonstrated the broad range of international criminal activity conducted by today’s Asian organized crime groups,” said Special Agent Bud Spencer, who worked the case in our Los Angeles office.

The eight-year investigation began when FBI undercover agents, posing as underworld criminals, helped make sure that shipping containers full of counterfeit cigarettes made it past U.S. Customs officers undetected. Over time, as undercover agents won the smugglers’ trust, they were asked to facilitate other illegal shipments such as narcotics and millions of dollars in Supernotes. Later, the smugglers offered a variety of Chinese military-grade weapons, including the QW-2 surface-to-air missiles.

Some of the drugs—including methamphetamine and fake Viagra—were hidden in large cardboard boxes with false bottoms that contained toys. The Supernotes were placed between the pages of books or lined in large bolts of rolled-up fabric. All of the items were smuggled into the U.S. in 40-foot shipping containers.

Missile
The smugglers offered a variety of Chinese military-grade weapons, including surface-to-air missiles.

Between Smoking Dragon and Royal Charm, some $4.5 million in counterfeit currency was seized, along with more than $40 million worth of counterfeit cigarettes, drugs, and other real and phony items. The smugglers were also forced to forfeit a total of $24 million in cash, along with real estate, cars, and jewelry.

Most of the defendants were indicted in 2005 and have since pled guilty or been convicted. Chen was the final defendant to be sentenced relating to Operation Smoking Dragon. His was the nation’s first conviction under a 2004 anti-terrorism statute that outlaws the importation of missile systems designed to destroy aircraft.

“There is only one purpose for shoulder-fired missiles like the QW-2, and that is to bring down aircraft,” said Special Agent Omar Trevino, who worked the case from the beginning. “Smoking Dragon dismantled an international smuggling ring, and it illustrated that organized crime groups will stop at nothing to make a profit.”

Mark Aveis, an assistant United States attorney in Los Angeles who prosecuted the Chen case, agreed with Agent Trevino. “Chen and his associates didn’t care what they smuggled as long as they made money,” he said. “This case highlights the FBI’s ability to carry out successful long-term undercover investigations—and the continuing need for such investigations.”