DRUG BUSTS CAN'T STOP THE TRAFFIC

Flood of Coke, Meth into U.S. From Mexico Merely Slowed

The international crackdown on a powerful Mexican drug cartel last
week put a damper on the stream of cocaine, methamphetamine and
marijuana coming into the United States across the Arizona border.

But it won't do much to stop the overall flow of drugs pouring into
the country from Mexico every day, officials said.

"It's a great victory, but it isn't like we're not going to see any
more drugs come across," said Sgt. Tom Hayden of the Pima County
Sheriff's Department in Tucson.

"Operation Trifecta," a 19-month investigation that has led to 240
arrests, including 10 in Arizona, most likely will force Mexican drug
kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada-Garcia to re-evaluate his smuggling
methods, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration said.

It could force the 55-year-old Zambada-Garcia to turn to other cartels
to keep his drugs moving while he re-establishes his distribution
cells in the United States.

Zambada-Garcia has long belonged to a loose network of traffickers
known to the DEA as the Mexican Drug Trafficking Federation, officials
said.

"They'll always find a way to resurrect and obtain their goal," said
Special Agent Ramona Sanchez, a DEA spokeswoman in Phoenix.

Or it could tempt rival drug gangs to muscle their way into his
territory, which would lead to bloodshed, said Hayden, an analyst for
the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, a coalition of
federal, state and local law enforcement officers that combats drug
trafficking. "We might see some violence on the Mexican side. We'll
have to watch out for that."

Violence is nothing new for Zambada-Garcia, who is believed to have
blasted his way to the top of the Mexican drug trade by taking out
members of the Arellano-Felix Organization, which until early last
year was considered the most powerful cartel in Mexico.

Linked to Agent's Killing

Officials also said Zambada-Garcia is linked to the 1985 murder of
Enrique Camarena Salazar, a DEA agent who was kidnapped and tortured
before his body was buried in a shallow grave near Guadalajara.

Federal indictments charging Zambada-Garcia, his son and his top
lieutenant with drug smuggling were unsealed Thursday. They are
believed to be hiding in Sinaloa, Mexico.

Since December 2001, authorities have seized 23 tons of cocaine, 12
tons of marijuana and $8.3 million in cash from the cartel through
raids and arrests in the United States.

The Zambada-Garcia cartel had distribution cells throughout the United
States, including Tucson, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and
Salt Lake City, which were dismantled by a multitude of federal, state
and local law enforcement agencies, officials said. No arrests were
made in Phoenix last week, though the cartel is known to run drugs
through the Valley.

Hardest Hit in U.S.

Although Mexican authorities arrested four suspects last week, the
cartel took the hardest hit in the United States, with some arrests
coming in Arizona.

Steven Silva, 29, of Tucson, was arrested last week in New York on
charges of transporting drugs. Daniel Lang, 50, of New York, was
arrested last week in Chandler on charges of making a drug run to New
York.

Nine men were arrested in Tucson: Derek John Miranda, 31; Fernando
Ulises Orozco, 36; Francisco Villalobos, 23; Jorge
Quinonez-Escalante, 27; Maurice Dixon, 44; Vincent Camacho, 34; Kevin
Silva, 27; Jose Mendez-Martinez, 20; and Oswaldo Magallanes, 23.

More Arrests Likely

Authorities expect more arrests in the investigation, which involves
the cooperation of the United States, Mexico and Colombia.

"I think there are some people that are very shocked and taken aback,"
said DEA Supervisory Agent Tony Ryan, a spokesman in Tucson. "I don't
think anybody saw this coming. I think we sent sound waves across the
organization."

Despite the setback, the cartel likely will recoup.

"It's like a conveyor belt," Sanchez said. "If something is dismantled
or not working, they will fix it."

After all, she said, the demand for drugs in this country is too
strong to allow operations to come to a halt.

"It's basically Economics 101," she said. "If the people from the East
Coast and Los Angeles continue to want drugs, you can be assured
someone out there will provide them with it."