Friday, December 12, 2014

Guerreros Unidos Cell in the U.S. Dismanteled

12/12/2014



The leaders of a cell of Guerreros Unidos, based out of the Chicago, Illinois area, 40 year old Pablo Vega Cuevas and his 37 year old brother-in-law Alexander Figueroa, were arrested on Tuesday morning, December 9 in southeastern Oklahoma.  Both these individuals lived in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, where they oversaw the importation of heroin and cocaine hidden in commercial passenger buses arriving in Chicago from Mexico, which was stored in warehouses in Aurora and Batavia before the drugs were distributed.  Following their arrest, Vega and Figueroa appeared in federal court and were then transferred to Chicago.

In addition, that same day three other members of the cell, 50 year old Eliseo Betancourt Pereira of Aurora, 39 year old Roberto Sanchez of Chicago, and 29 year old Isaias Mandujano of Rockford,
were arrested in the Chicago area.  All three individuals appeared in federal court and are being held pending a detention hearing to take place in the following days.

Arrest warrants have also been issued for three other members of this cell, 43 year old Wilfredo Flores Santos of North Aurora, 31 year old Jose Rodriguez of Chicago, and 33-34 year old Arturo Martinez, who is currently believed to be in Mexico.

Seven of the individuals face the charges of conspiracy to posses and distribute a kilogram or more of heroin, which carries a sentence of a $10 million fine and ten years to life in prison, while Mandujuano faces a charge of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, which carries a sentence of a $5 million fine and five to forty years in prison.

Since August 2013, when the investigation of this cell began, 68 kilograms of heroin, 9 kilograms of cocaine, and $500,000 has been seized by authorities.


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