Gucci's expulsion ends drug trafficking ring

Suspicious package containing 4 kg of cocaine, engraved with the Gucci brand logo Gucci  It was the beginning of a rigorous investigation into the drug smuggling operation in Pennsylvania that led to the dismantling of a criminal network that was under control from Mexico, and was considered the end of the Sinalo Cartel in the United States of America.

The 28 defendants who were arrested last month on drug smuggling charges, including Jamal Ali Maraj, an African-American who was most wanted by US authorities and responsible for distributing drugs, face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, in addition to a fine of up to Before arresting the smugglers, the authorities managed to confiscate 10 kilograms of cocaine that were transported in a truck and more than $26 in cash that were transported in a black sedan.

The Argentine newspaper, Infopay, said in a report that kilograms of cocaine from coast to coast in the United States, where the Sinaloa Cartel organization has controlled for years the western Pennsylvania region, a high-density drug smuggling area, and this was the result of a long investigation born in 2018 after the impact of Gucci brand left it.

The newspaper pointed out that since October 2018, the US authorities have started the so-called “Operation” TripwireAnd it all began when an agent from the United States Postal Service foundUSPS) a suspicious package arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from Los Angeles, California.

Kenneth Clavely, chief investigator for the USPS In that area, during a conference that gave the results of this operation: “They opened the package and discovered that it contained four kilograms of cocaine.”

One of the details that caught the dealers’ attention the most was the identification that one of the pieces that was intercepted bore the logo and the name of the clothing brand.”Gucci. The package also contains two clues that the officers used to start the process: the addresses of the sender and recipient. They discovered more addresses of the smugglers and began plotting the operation that would dismantle the drug trafficking network that had a captive market in Pennsylvania.

After the discovery, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ledDEAOperation in front of a team made up of several law enforcement agencies, in these two years of work, this team collected evidence through wiretapping, tracking and seizure of shipments, thanks to this, they were able to confirm that all the cocaine was sent by Sinaloa Cartel Sinaloa Cartel.

Once the drug reached Pennsylvania, it was distributed by Jamal Ali Maraj, an African American who is now one of the authorities' most wanted.

 “It was supplied by high-ranking cocaine dealers in Los Angeles, who received the drug from Mexico,” said Paris Pratt, head of the Pittsburgh office in Pittsburgh. “The drugs were shipped from Mexico through various states, including Pennsylvania.”

During this investigation, 90 kilograms of cocaine, 10 kilograms of marijuana and more than half a million dollars in cash were seized, and several arrests were made in Los Angeles, Nogales (Arizona) and Pittsburgh simultaneously on September 2, despite the Corona virus crisis.

In the federal indictment, one of the leaders of this drug trafficking network was identified as Noel Perez-Aguilar, nicknamed "El Venado." The 48-year-old was a drug dealer in Los Angeles, California.

There is a general feeling in recent years of the existence of the Sinaloa cartel in Pennsylvania, due to the change that has arisen around the quality of the drug consumed in the region, and there are also accusations of the Sinaloa cartel of being behind the large quantities of methamphetamine found in western Pennsylvania.