Federal Agent; Alamance A Major Hub For Drugs, Violence

Alamance County is a major drug distribution center, one that also
draws violence and weapons. Sheriff Terry Johnson has said so for
years. On Monday, a presentation from a federal agent on the front
line of local drug enforcement efforts agreed with him and used
sobering statistics and photos of gruesome killings to make the point
that "all roads lead to Alamance." The Alamance County connection
stretches not only across the nation but to drug organizations
responsible for 1,000 killings alone in Mexico since Jan. 1, said
Wally Serniak, the resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement
Administration office in Greensboro.

Alamance County is "major transshipment point for narcotics, mainly
cocaine and marijuana, for the east coast," Serniak said.

The Greensboro DEA office works a 21-county area that stretches from
the Virginia border south and east to Cabarrus and Hoke counties.
Alamance County is on the eastern edge of that territory and "by far
the number one" hub and a major point of distribution elsewhere,
Serniak said. Serniak has tied major quantities of drugs and cash
seized "throughout the country to Alamance County."

Some of the drugs "are destined" for major cities like Chicago,
Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and other parts of the northeastern
corridor, he said. In Mexico, drug-related killings have exploded.
The reason, according to a recent story in the USA Today, is a
backlash against Mexican President Felipe Calderon's attempt to crack
down on the drug trade. Aside from other rival drug dealers, the
warring factions have killed judges, police and government officials.

In his presentation to the county commissioners on Monday, Serniak
said the economic downturn and turf wars have led to an explosion of
killings in Mexico and more drugs and violence in Alamance County.
Until the 1990s, Colombian drug operations oversaw cocaine production
and distribution in the U.S., he said. The cartels then began selling
loads of mostly cocaine to Mexican drug organizations, who took over
the operation from there.

"In the last 10 to 15 years, the Mexican national drug trafficking
organizations have really taken a foothold in the domestic U.S." The
Mexicans groups, already skilled in illicit transportation from years
of human smuggling, have highly structured and compartmentalized
operations "similar to a Fortune 500 company," Serniak said.

Serniak said those operations tend to rely on U.S. residents, trusted
family members related to the major Mexican players. Some of those
residents live in Alamance County and are U.S.-born.

Groups called "cell heads" move cash and drugs between hubs in
Alamance County and Atlanta.

Tractor trailers and smaller vehicles carry cash back to Mexico in
bulk. The distributors also wire and launder proceeds through local
businesses. Seclusion provided by rural areas and easy access to
major highways make Alamance County desirable to major drug
distributors. Distributors "can stash loads" in barns and elsewhere
on farms and get them to the Interstates 85 and 40 quickly, Serniak said.

The poor economy and a struggle for control of the drug trade in
Mexico and the U.S. are behind the killings in Mexico and a "major,
major increase in drug-related violence" locally, Serniak said.

The wars have caused a product shortage and higher prices in the
U.S., pushing the local wholesale price of a kilo (2.2 pounds) of
cocaine from around $17,000 to $30,000.

Dealers then sell the cocaine at much higher prices to users. Those
who don't want to pay those prices are turning to more home
invasions, thefts, and violence to get drugs.

Local authorities "have a good handle" on the level of overall
activity and who's behind it. The DEA office has seized 300 kilograms
of cocaine and more than $3 million in cash from one Alamance County
operation alone. "The numbers are staggering," Serniak said. "And
we're only getting a small percentage of what's coming through here."