BAJA POLICE AGENT AMONG 12 ARRESTED IN DRUG CASE

TIJUANA - U.S. authorities have arrested 12 people suspected of being
members of an Imperial Valley-based drug trafficking ring, including a
Mexican state police agent.

Last week's arrests capped a 10-month investigation in which U.S.
authorities seized about 5 pounds of methamphetamine and 110 pounds of
marijuana in the Imperial Valley area.

The organization operated for about four years and also distributed
drugs in Phoenix, Orange County and Los Angeles, U.S. authorities said.

The suspects, most of whom were arrested June 5, face charges of
conspiracy and of possessing and transporting methamphetamine and
marijuana with the intent to sell.

Two of those arrested, Francisco Javier Rodriguez and Jorge Munoz of
Imperial Valley, are suspected of directing distribution of the drugs
north of the border.

They apparently worked closely with Baja California state agent Diego
Hernandez-Leyva, who lived in Mexicali but was arrested in the United
States during last week's sweep.

U.S. authorities said Hernandez-Leyva was the group's major supplier
of methamphetamine, which was being smuggled through the Mexicali
border inside cars or by pedestrians.

Michael Vigil, special agent in charge of the San Diego office of the
Drug Enforcement Administration, said Hernandez-Leyva probably
obtained the methamphetamine from "a significant group on the other
side we haven't identified."

More than a dozen agencies, including the DEA, the Imperial County
Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Border Patrol, participated in the
investigation. The investigation is continuing in Mexico with the
assistance of Mexican federal authorities.

Baja California Attorney General Antonio Martinez Luna lauded U.S.
authorities for the arrest of one of his own state agents. Last month,
U.S. authorities arrested and charged another Baja California state
police officer, Luis Guadalupe Ruiz Ramirez, with drug-related crimes.

"We believe that the U.S. authorities have sufficient elements to
detain them," Martinez said. "For us, they are traitors to the
corporation."

Vigil said that he spoke with Martinez regarding the arrest of
Hernandez-Leyva and was impressed with his willingness to provide
follow-up assistance.

"I think the type of cooperation that currently exists between Mexico
and the United States in terms of counter-drug efforts is really
starting to jell and become even more progressive and stronger,"
Vigil said.