From the HERE City National Desk
EL PASO, Texas — Thirteen people now face federal charges over what prosecutors describe as a steady flow of stolen cars, SUVs and pickups from the American Southwest into the hands of Mexican cartels, according to federal prosecutors for the Western District of Texas, who unveiled the case this week.
U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons laid out the case at a news conference inside his El Paso office, with agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI beside him. The agencies ran the case as part of the Homeland Security Task Force.
The probe, called Operation Southbound Takedown, started this spring. Investigators say they spotted a pattern: vehicles taken from individual owners and from major rental companies, driven to El Paso and handed off across the border to people tied to criminal groups in Mexico.
Agents have pulled back 29 vehicles so far, valued together at an estimated $1.14 million. Images released by prosecutors included an armored black SUV, an armored pickup and a damaged white SUV found in Mexico.
Prosecutors allege the vehicles helped keep cartel operations running day to day. Simmons warned that cartels, many now designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations, recruit people chasing fast money to move the vehicles, and he said anyone who does so will be found and prosecuted.
Prosecutors said 11 of those charged hold U.S. citizenship, while the other two are citizens of Mexico. Two of the Americans are in state custody, and federal agents arrested the other 11 after indictments returned from July 22 through Oct. 19.
The lone count against each defendant is interstate transportation of stolen property. A conviction can bring as much as a decade behind bars in federal prison. Nobody has been convicted; an indictment only lays out what prosecutors claim.
Help from private companies, alongside federal, state and local police, was part of the effort, officials said. Homeland Security Investigations leaders said the work spanning both countries is not finished.
Section: More Washington DC crime news
Filed under: Washington DC Crime News
