TEENS RECRUITED FROM LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL TO SMUGGLE

HORIZON CITY -- The halls of Horizon High School are spotless and
shine with new paint that comes with being one of the newest high
schools in the El Paso region.

But the pristine campus decorated with its scorpion mascot --
according to a federal agents -- was the recruiting ground for a
student-led drug trafficking ring suspected of smuggling 14 tons of
marijuana between JuA!rez and Oklahoma City last school year.

Recent Horizon High graduate Rene Humberto Perez, alias "Jetta," is
accused of hiring fellow students to drive marijuana-filled vehicles
destined for an Oklahoma City connection identified only as "El Tio"
(the uncle), a federal criminal complaint affidavit stated.

The allegations of a student drug smuggling ring based out of the
high school was met with mix of surprise and uneasiness in the
fast-growing community east of El Paso.

"A lot of the kids are really disappointed. They know here in Horizon
not everybody is dealing drugs," said 17-year-old Ramon Sanchez, who
will be a senior at the school when classes begin next week.

On Aug. 9, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special
agents arrested Perez, 18, at his home in the 12300 block of Tierra
Madre Drive in far east El Paso, agency spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa
said.

Perez was part of the class of 2007, the school's second-ever
graduation.

Perez was charged with conspiring to import about 1,000 kilos of
marijuana since November. A federal magistrate set bond at $20,000.
El Paso County jail logs show he was released to the custody of U.S.
Marshals.

A federal criminal complaint affidavit, acquired by the El Paso
Times, details how the arrests of drivers caught smuggling marijuana
in El Paso and Central Texas led to the discovery of what federal
authorities labled the Perez Drug Trafficking Organization.

Horizon Principal Pam Howard said that in the past academic year she
was informed of one arrest but that she not told it was linked to the
school. "Our campus is very safe," Howard insisted.

The 1,300-student school has a new security camera system and is
swept regularly by the Clint Independent School District's
drug-sniffing dog as deterrent to drug activity.

ICE officials said they suspect 15 to 20 students were recruited and
paid about $1,500 to drive vehicles across the border from JuA!rez
and $3,500 more to drive loads to Oklahoma City.

According to the complaint affidavit, several drivers accused of
smuggling marijuana identified Perez and another Horizon High student
named Ivan Lozoya as the ring leaders.

On July 23, ICE agents interviewed Lozoya who detailed the ring's
operation, identified Perez as "Jetta" and named Perez as the person
who recruited him, the affidavit revealed.

"Ivan Lozoya stated that Rene Perez recruited several other
individuals that attended Horizon High School at the same time he
attended Horizon High School," the document stated. Lozoya told
investigators that Chevrolet Suburbans with marijuana hidden in the
gas tank were handed over to a "El Tio" in Oklahoma City. The
vehicles were driven back or the driver would fly back to El Paso.

But the investigation began months earlier as marijuana began to be
seized and teens began to talk.

On April 18, Horizon student Luis Eduardo Madrid, who is described as
a cooperating defendant, was arrested attempting to smuggle 203
pounds of marijuana in the gas tank of a Chevrolet Suburban, the
document stated. Madrid told ICE agents he was recruited by Lozoya
and Perez. The Suburban was registered to Nelly Lozoya, sister of
Ivan Lozoya, who is suspected of assisted her brother and Perez.

On May 21, Stephanie Soto was arrested at the Zaragoza Bridge by El
Paso police for allegedly smuggling 280 pounds of marijuana hidden in
a vehicle, the document stated. Soto told a detective the vehicle and
drugs belonged to Perez and Lozoya.

In June, ICE agents interviewed a friend of Soto named Rosalia Vega
who told agents she allegedly drove loads across the border to
Lozoya's home and four times to Oklahoma. Vega also claimed Perez
gave her $5,000 to buy a 1993 Chevrolet Suburban.

On April 23, Texas state troopers stopped Vega's Suburban with 203
pounds of marijuana in Noland County in Central Texas, the affidavit
stated. Victor Alfonso Navarro (who administrators said was not a
Horizon High student) and an unnamed juvenile were in the vehicle.
The juvenile told ICE agents he was hired by someone named Jetta to
take the load. The Suburban was picked up in the parking lot of a
Wal-Mart on Alameda with the keys, $300 spending cash and a map to
Oklahoma City left inside.

On July 18, agents interviewed Julian Salazar who had been arrested
in November in Sweetwater, Texas, while allegedly driving a Chevrolet
Suburban with 207 pounds of marijuana, the document stated. Salazar,
who listed Perez as next of kin in a jail report, told agents he was
approached by Perez at Horizon High School and asked to drive the
load.

"None of these students stick out as chronic discipline problems,"
Assistant Principal Ronald Behm said looking over the names in the
complaint affidavit.

An ICE spokeswoman said there are other inquiries stemming from the
case. The legal status of the people named in the affidavit besides
Perez was not disclosed.

"I don't think this problem is unique to Horizon City," Horizon City
Police Chief Antonio Aguilar said. "It can happen anywhere. I think
it has opened our eyes."