Suspected leaders of major drug ring jailed

Operation brought in tons of pot, has history of violence, records say
By Alexis Huicochea
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

An international drug-trafficking organization that brought violence and thousands of pounds of marijuana into Southern Arizona has been busted, according to court documents made public Wednesday.

The organization, led by Carlos Molinares-Nuñez for the last five years, has been linked to homicides both in Mexico and the United States that appear to be drug-related, court documents state.

The Molinares-Nuñez drug operation is also responsible for moving thousands of pounds of marijuana into Southern Arizona during a three-year period in which it was being closely monitored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and the Bisbee Police Department, records show.

"On numerous occasions, agents were frustrated in their enforcement efforts due to active physical and electronic counter-surveillance techniques, which were routinely performed by members" of the drug gang, court documents state.

Agents were not only frustrated by those barriers but also with the fights that the organization would put up any time law enforcement caught them transporting marijuana into the country.

Many tons of marijuana would be transported at one time in modified vehicles that would enter the country by driving in between designated ports of entry to avoid law officers, the memo said.

The drivers were told to evade officers if detected, which resulted in a number of high-speed pursuits as they attempted to return to Mexico.