Federal authorities dismantle a drug trafficking operation responsible for transporting narcotics worth $16-28 million from Mexico to Canada.
Federal Authorities Earlier this week arrested ten individuals across various cities were apprehended in connection with two federal indictments. These indictments accuse members of an organized crime syndicate of plotting to traffic and import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and other controlled substances from Mexico, using Los Angeles as a hub for export to Canada or distribution within the United States.
On Tuesday, Jan. 30, arrest and search warrants were carried out by a coalition of international law enforcement partners in various cities, including Los Angeles, Sacramento (California), Miami, Odessa (Texas), and the Canadian cities of Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary.
Apart from those apprehended, two defendants were already in state custody, while seven defendants remain at large, including three individuals from Mexico who purportedly supplied wholesale quantities of narcotics to traffickers in the United States and Canada.
Dubbed “Operation Dead Hand,” the investigation led to the unveiling of two federal grand jury indictments in Los Angeles earlier this month. These indictments, now unsealed, collectively charge 19 individuals for their alleged involvement in the organized crime syndicate. The accused include suppliers from Mexico responsible for importing large quantities of narcotics into the United States, distributors within the United States, a Canadian orchestrating export operations, Canadian-based semi-truck drivers operating in the United States, and a significant Canadian trafficker, Robert Scoppa, alongside an alleged Italian organized crime figure. Investigators assert that Scoppa was procuring substantial quantities of drugs on a wholesale basis.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco emphasized, “Today’s charges and arrests across North America highlight the Justice Department’s effective collaboration with our Mexican and Canadian counterparts in disrupting international narcotics trafficking. These cases underscore how our agents and prosecutors work hand in hand to identify and dismantle organized criminal networks engaged in the distribution and profit from dangerous drugs.”