Drug bust linked to Mexico

DOWNEY - Downey narcotic officers played an integral role in the arrest of Mexican druglord Jose Antonio Medina, captured March 23 in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, law enforcement officials have announced.Medina, who is currently awaiting extradition to the U.S., had a "major distributor" in Downey, Downey police officials said. Narcotic officers from the Downey Police Department seized approximately 100 pounds of heroin, 40 pounds of methamphetamine and an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency. The local seizures were made at different locations in Downey, said Lt. Phil Rego of the Downey Police Department. At a news conference in Ventura on Monday, authorities said wiretaps and surveillance led to two "midlevel" dealers in Downey and Oxnard with direct ties to Medina, who is known in Mexico as the "King of Heroin." Medina, nicknamed "Don PePe," was the subject of a U.S. law enforcement investigation dating back to December 2006. Medina and his drug trafficking organization is alleged to have supplied "substantial quantities" of heroin and methamphetamine to dealers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, San Jose and San Francisco, Oakland, and parts of Oregon and Washington. The investigation has yielded more than 50 arrests thus far, authorities said, along with the seizure of 278 pounds of tar heroin, 47 pounds of methamphetamine, four pounds of cocaine, "numerous" weapons and nearly $304,000 cash. Downey's Narcotics Unit is led by Sgt. Gil Toledo.

********** Published: April 2, 2010 - Volume 8 - Issue 50