6 Illegal Immigrants Arrested in NC Running Major Drug Trafficking Operation
Cartel-tied Mexican illegals ran elaborate cross-border cocaine and methamphetamine ring
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Six Mexican cartel-tied illegal immigrants were arrested in North Carolina for running a major cross-border drug trafficking operation, according to reports.
6 members of the gang were apprehended by federal agents and are believed to be rivals of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, whose notorious leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was convicted last week.
The huge drug operation included transporting large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine through weak spots of the US-Mexico border and then across state lines — for instance, from Texas to Georgia and North Carolina, WSOC reported.
Federal officials identified the suspects as Raul Rangel-Gutierrez, Oscar Rangel-Gutierrez, Regulo Rangel-Gutierrez, Rodolfo Martinez, Francisco Garcia-Martinez, and Rigoberto Rangel-Gutierrez.
The feds revealed that all suspects were nationals of Mexico who had entered the United States illegally.
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"Members of the investigative team believe — based on wire intercepts, surveillance and other facts discovered from the investigation — that Oscar and Regulo transport illicit proceeds, derived from the sales of narcotics, when they travel from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte,” according to federal court documents, as WMBF reported.
Misty Joyner, who reportedly lived near the home in Charlotte where investigators said Rangel-Gutierrez stored drug money, was in disbelief about her neighbors.
“Just devastating,” Joyner told WSOC.
“They were good people.”
According to Fox News, Rangel-Gutierrez is affiliated with the upstart Jalisco New Generation cartel.
The human rights group Justice in Mexico reported last year that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel started gaining power after El Chapo's arrest.
The cartel has tried to stage incursions into Sinaloa territory, sparking bloody turf battles in places like Tijuana.
The border city across from San Diego has become one of the world’s deadliest cities.
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Sinaloa’s leader, Guzman, was convicted last Tuesday in New York, likely meaning he will spend decades behind bars in the United States.
He gained infamy for twice pulling off brazen escapes from maximum-security prisons, earning him international notoriety perhaps rivaled only by the late Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
El Chapo's cartel was once the biggest supplier of drugs to the U.S.
