Posted on May 9, 2008 by Anthony Lake

Black Market Peso Exchange Thriving Despite Economy

   According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, 24 defendants have entered guilty pleas in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on money laundering conspiracy charges. The charges against the defendants allege that the defendants attempted to launder millions of dollars through the "black market peso exchange." The black market peso exchange is comprise of Colombian narcotics traffickers who need to convert U.S. currency earned from the drug trade into Colombian pesos, since U.S. currency is generally not accepted in Colombia.
    The defendants were apprehended through a sting operation by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement called "Operation Rainmaker." ICE agents, posing as money launderers, made 33 pickups of drug proceeds in Atlanta, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Puerto Rico, as well as ICE's first ever pickup in Mexico. $9,000,000 in proceeds, as well as quantities of narcotics, were seized as the result of the operation. The Atlanta defendants were arrested following two pickups by agents at a store parking lot in Gwinnett County.

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Posted on March 10, 2008 by Anthony Lake

Atlanta Vice?: Atlanta Area a Global Center for Drug Distribution

Jack Killorin, the Director of the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), announced to the press that drug enforcement efforts have resulted in a rise in drug prices and decrease in drug quality in the metro Atlanta area. Killorin cited the HIDTA’s and Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) shutting down of two drug trafficking operations in December and seizure of millions of dollars worth of drugs and $10 million in cash. Killorin further noted the DEA’s large seizures of methamphetamine in Gwinnett County over the last three years, including a record-setting $50 million worth of crystal meth seized in Buford, Georgia, in 2006.

Killorin also described to Atlanta as “Atlanta Vice,” in reference to the popular 1980s television show “Miami Vice,” minus the palm trees, bikinis, speed boats and white sports jackets. According to federal authorities, Atlanta has become a global center for drug distribution, receiving a range of drugs, including powder and crack cocaine, crystal meth and ecstasy, mostly from Mexican drug cartels, and distributing them to cities in the East and Midwest. Moreover, the drug trade has moved into the affluent suburbs, with drug traffickers renting houses on large, private lots to shield them from surveillance. Killorin also stated, on the positive side, that Georgia’s 2005 law restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, a necessary ingredient for methamphetamine production, has reduced the number of meth labs which used to riddle north Georgia, although meth produced in Mexico has filled the vacuum.

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Posted on March 7, 2008 by Anthony Lake

Ink is on the Wall for Dozens Arrested in Gun and Drug Sting

          Although tattoo artistry has proved a great success for the TLC network through programs such as “Miami Ink” and “L.A. Ink,” you won’t see “Augusta Ink,” except perhaps on local nightly news. That’s because “Augusta Ink” is a 16-month sting operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Richmond County Sheriff’s Department. ATF agents and Sheriff’s deputies posed as employees of a tattoo parlor in Hephzibah, Georgia, attempting to purchase illegal firearms and drugs from local gang members. The operation netted 400 firearms and boxes of drugs. The arrest operation in November further resulted in 71 arrests. These individuals are now being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

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