DEV-MUC3-0666 (GE)
MEXICO CITY (MEXICO), 10 NOV 89 (AFP) -- [TEXT] MEXICAN NARCOTICS POLICE HAVE ARRESTED COLOMBIAN CITIZEN JORGE HUMBERTO CHALARIA, KNOWN AS "EL NEGRO," THE REPRESENTATIVE IN MEXICO OF COLOMBIAN DRUG TRAFFICKER GONZALO RODRIGUEZ GACHA, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "EL MEXICANO," THE TOP CHIEF OF THE MEDELLIN CARTEL, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE (PGR) MADE KNOWN TODAY.
CHALARIA, 30 YEARS OLD, 5 OTHER COLOMBIANS, 1 VENEZUELAN, AND 12 MEXICANS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED "IN THE LAST 2 DAYS" AND 550 KG OF PURE COCAINE HAVE BEEN CONFISCATED IN OPERATIONS CONDUCTED IN THIS CITY AND IN THE STATES OF SONORA AND TAMAULIPAS, A PGR SPOKESMAN SAID.
THE GANG OF DRUG TRAFFICKERS LED BY CHALARIA WERE ABLE TO DELIVER OVER 50 TONS OF PURE COCAINE TO THE STATES OF CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA IN THE LAST 4 YEARS, THE PGR SPOKESMAN ADDED.
"EL NEGRO" CONFESSED THAT HE HAD BEEN IN MEXICO SINCE 1988 UNDER THE ORDERS OF GONZALO RODRIGUEZ GACHA, ACCORDING TO THE SAME SOURCE.
THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING GANG HAD THE PROTECTION OF ARTURO CUELLAR TIJERINA, COMMANDER OF THE TAMAULIPAS JUDICIAL POLICE, WHO WAS ALSO ARRESTED.
CUELLAR AND A GROUP OF POLICEMEN UNDER HIS ORDERS SUPPLIED FUEL TO THE DRUG TRAFFICKERS, WHO BROUGHT THE DRUG INTO MEXICO BY MEANS OF LIGHT AIRCRAFT, WHICH LANDED ON CLANDESTINE RUNWAYS NEAR THE BORDER WITH THE UNITED STATES.
THOSE ARRESTED CONFESSED THAT AMERICAN JULIO CHAGY DE LA ROSA, A MIAMI RESIDENT, DISTRIBUTED THE DRUG AND "LAUNDERED" THE MONEY OBTAINED IN THE DRUG TRAFFICKING BUSINESS THROUGH A COMPANY CALLED "ITAL BAGNO," WHICH SUPPOSEDLY MANUFACTURED STOVES.
THEY SAID THAT ON 29 OCTOBER THEY RECEIVED A LOAD OF 550 KG OF PURE COCAINE FROM COLOMBIA, BROUGHT INTO THE COUNTRY FROM A RANCH LOCATED IN SONORA. THE NARCOTICS POLICE DETECTED THE ILLEGAL OPERATION AT THE RANCH AND ARRESTED ALFONSO CASTILLO ARMENTA AND HIS DAUGHTER, WHO HAD MODERN RADIO COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE COLOMBIAN PLANES AND WITH "EL NEGRO."
THE INVESTIGATIONS LED THE POLICE TO A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD IN THIS CAPITAL, WHERE "EL NEGRO" HAD RENTED A HOME IN WHICH HE LIVED WITH A VENEZUELAN WOMAN BY THE NAME OF CRIATINA ROSAS RODRIGUEZ, WHO COVERED UP THE ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY HER COMPANION.
THE ARREST IS THE THIRD HEAVY BLOW DEALT ON THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING BUSINESS BY THE MEXICAN POLICE IN THE LAST 3 WEEKS.
ON 19 OCTOBER, THE POLICE ARRESTED COLOMBIANS RODRIGO DIZUNZA OCHOA, NEPHEW OF DRUG TRAFFICKER FABIO OCHOA, AND ALFREDO AGUILAR CASTRO, NEPHEW OF COLOMBIAN DRUG TRAFFICKER RODRIGUEZ GACHA, WHO HAD 10 KG OF PURE COCAINE IN THEIR POSSESSION.
EARLY THIS MONTH, MEXICAN RAFAEL MUNOZ TALAVERA WAS ARRESTED. HE ALLEGEDLY OWNS THE 20 TONS OF PURE COCAINE DISCOVERED IN A WAREHOUSE IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, IN SEPTEMBER.
SINCE PRESIDENT CARLOS SALINAS DE GORTARI TOOK OFFICE LAST DECEMBER, THE MEXICAN NARCOTICS POLICE HAVE CONFISCATED 23 TONS OF PURE COCAINE AND HAVE ARRESTED NEARLY 10,000 DRUG TRAFFICKERS.