Tricked into Harvesting Pot? Ohio Feds Call Case Example of Cartel Sponsored Drug Production

Fox News Latino

Did they know what they were doing or was it a part of cartel sponsored drug production in America's heartland?

Federal prosecutors are wrapping up their case against 11 men charged with cultivating thousands of marijuana plants. The state's former top cop called it an example of cartel-sponsored drug production, but defense attorneys say many of defendants were day laborers who were tricked into harvesting pot.

All 11 have pleaded guilty and seven have received sentences ranging from a year to 18 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Thomas Rose was scheduled to sentence three more defendants Friday in Dayton, with a final sentencing Aug. 17...[Full Article]

Three men arrested in major marijuana bust
(Columbus, Ohio - January 27, 2011)

...Brothers Arnaldo Ruben Miranda, 25, and Luis Alberto Miranda, 24, along with Hector Ernesto Martinez, 36, were in the Franklin County jail tonight on felony drug-possession charges. Bail was set at $500,085 for each...

...Martinez, of 674 Wellington Blvd. on the North Side, will be turned over to immigration authorities once his criminal case is resolved, though authorities wouldn't say whether he's an illegal immigrant. Arnaldo Miranda also is wanted on a warrant out of Arizona, according to Franklin County jail records.

[Full Article]

11 Mexican Nationals Arrested in huge Outdoor Marijuana Operation in Ohio (Columbus, Ohio - September 24, 2010)
DEA, BCI and Local Law Enforcement Seize Thousands of plants in two Counties

SEP 24 -- (COLUMBUS, Ohio) — A crew of 11 Mexican nationals, including the alleged ringleader, were arrested yesterday as the result of a three-month-long investigation into outdoor marijuana megafarms. More than 2,500 marijuana plants were seized from these massive outdoor grow operations. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Robert L. Corso made the announcement today.

“It’s rare for investigators to make arrests in these kinds of marijuana growing operations, and to have arrested 11 individuals surprised even the most seasoned of investigators,” said Attorney General Cordray. “I cannot overemphasize the importance of successfully and safely arresting the alleged ringleader of this operation and his crew. It could be instrumental to further understanding and shutting down this cancerous practice that has been spreading to Ohio.”...

[Full Article]

Drug-Related Deaths Overwhelm Mexico Morgues

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Mexico's Morgues Crowded With Mounting Drug-War Dead
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Death froze his exhausted face. The attackers lashed or punctured nearly every part of his body. Then they cut off the dead man's head, wrapped it in a plastic grocery bag and dumped it with his body between two tractor-trailers on a city street...

Mexican Gangs Dominate Ohio Drug Trade

Columbus is key distribution center for cartel's heroin

MEXICO CITY -- Powerful and well-organized Mexican drug-trafficking groups have seized control of drug distribution throughout Ohio, flooded local markets with increasingly cheap heroin and are using Columbus and Dayton as distribution hubs for southwestern Ohio and parts of Indiana, local and federal U.S. drug-enforcement officials say...

[From ColumbusDispatch.com]