Top member of global drug ring is extradited from Colombia and charged in L.A.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-international-drug-ring-20180914-story.html#

In this article from Los Angeles Times, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde writes about how officials in Mexico, Colombia, and Los Angeles captured a total of 7,700 pounds of cocaine and other drugs worth half a billion dollars in submarines, speedboats, a private jet that crashed into the Caribbean sea, and more oddly in frozen cubes of orange juice transported in trucks. On september 14th, 2018, Victor Hugo Cuellar-Silva, one of the main leaders of the drug operation was accused in downtown Los Angeles courtroom after being brought from Colombia. According to a federal accusation, Cuellar-Silva is the head of the Colombia base for the organization and is responsible for obtaining tons of cocaine and other drugs from South American labs, and coordinating their transportation for sale in the U.S. and elsewhere. Six California residents were also arrested in their homes this past thursday with the suspicion of operating stash houses and transporting the drugs in cars to be sold. Federal prosecutor Benjamin Barron said it’s among the largest drug cases they’ve ever prosecuted out of our Los Angeles district, and if Cuellar-Silva and three others are found guilty, they could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. In conclusion, Joseph Macias, a Department of Homeland Security investigator, said in a statement that an exile is a warning to fugitives who think they can evade U.S. law enforcement by hiding out in another country because in reality it is impossible and the consequences will eventually be faced.

by Isabel G. Torres