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Feds charge 19 in drug trafficking scheme across U.S., Mexico and Canada
Washington — The Justice Department on Tuesday announced charges against 19 people from the U.S., Canada and Mexico for allegedly trafficking large amounts of narcotics like meth, cocaine, and fentanyl throughout North America.
Investigators said the international crime syndicate allegedly purchased the illicit substances wholesale from Mexico and shipped them to U.S. cities like Los Angeles. Canadian “handlers” and “dispatchers” are accused of taking short trips into the U.S. to load the drugs onto long-haul semi-trucks for shipment north of the border, where they could fetch a higher street price.
In all, 12 of the defendants have been arrested and seven remain at large. Investigators said one of the defendants, Robert Scoppa, has ties to Italian organized crime in Montreal. Another, Jesus Ruiz Sandoval Jr., is an alleged large-scale drug trafficker from Mexico, according to the Justice Department, and remains on the run.
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The Justice Department said the investigation, dubbed “Operation Dead Hand,” uncovered a trafficking scheme that involved more than 1,800 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,000 pounds of cocaine and 44 pounds of fentanyl. Authorities seized drugs with a potential street value of $16 to 28 million, as well as $900,000.
“These cases provide yet another example of how our agents and prosecutors work side-by-side to uncover and dismantle organized criminal networks peddling and profiting from deadly drugs,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
Unsealed court documents revealed an alleged network of truckers who coordinated to transport the drugs across the U.S. and into Canada. Law enforcement agencies in California, Florida, Texas and Canada executed warrants related to the case on Tuesday morning.
“This organized group worked as a conspiracy with impunity throughout North America,” Donald Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said at a press conference announcing the charges.
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NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.