Alleged money laundering operation dismantled

A cell of the Juárez drug cartel dedicated to money laundering and the transportation of drug money was dismantled this week and five people were arrested, Mexico's attorney general's office said.
The arrests took place Monday and the operation continues with the ongoing search of several ranches in and around Juárez, attorney general spokeswoman Viviana Macias said from Mexico City.

Those arrested included Alejandro Rodríguez Meza, the alleged boss of the cell who answered to Vicente Carrillo Leyva, allegedly the son of the late Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the cartel's former boss.

Also arrested was Rodríguez's wife, Miriam Elizabeth Martínez Morales, who was allegedly overseeing couriers who brought drug money in from Detroit, Chicago and New York to Mexico. Martínez, who also paid the couriers, is considered the number two person in the cell, officials said.

The case started with the arrest of Luis Gerardo Gamboa Quiñonez, 31, who was caught crossing the Zaragoza Bridge into Mexico with $162,000 in his van. Police said Gamboa led them to his alleged boss, Rodríguez.
The others arrested were Claudia Angelica Diaz, who was responsible for obtaining cellular phones for her boss and for hiding the vehicles used to carry money, and Juan Carlos Carrillo Ramirez. Gamboa, Diaz and Carrillo were identified by officials as couriers for the cell.

The operation is part of a national effort by the Mexican government to curb drug trafficking and drug violence. Federal officials are conducted anti-drug raids in the states of Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa, an area known as the Golden Triangle, under the name Operation Sierra Madre.

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