MASSIVE DRUG RAIDS PAY OFF

Sweeping Midlands Operaton; Mexican Cartels Supplied Gangs

Federal, state and local law enforcement agents arrested dozens of
reputed drug suppliers and dealers across the Midlands in
simultaneous raids that began before dawn Tuesday.

The massive operation -- described as one of the largest roundups
ever in South Carolina -- was aimed at shutting down drug suppliers
and street-level dealers supplied with cocaine and marijuana by
Mexican cartels. Most suspects are gang members, authorities said.

Clad in black body armor, some 16 "takedown" teams of 10 or more
heavily armed officers from the FBI, the State Law Enforcement
Division and city and county law agencies surrounded targeted
residences in Richland and Lexington counties.

Mexicans with ties to violent Mexican drug cartels were living
illegally in Lexington County, smuggling in some 44 pounds of cocaine
a week, U.S. Attorney Walter Wilkins said at a news conference late
Tuesday. The cocaine was then distributed throughout the Columbia
area, he said.

"We have unveiled a vast conspiracy of high-level drug dealers," Wilkins said.

Some suspects are members of the Chicago-based gang Folk Nation, Wilkins said.

Others are members of lesser gangs known only in their local
neighborhoods, he said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge David Thomas called the roundup the
result of "one of the largest gang investigations ever in the history
of South Carolina."

Hundreds of hours of wiretaps, undercover cocaine buys and covert
surveillance by an FBI Violent Gang Task Force for more than a year
preceded the raids, authorities said.

Wilkins identified the Mexican drug cartels supplying the Lexington
County suspects as Las Zetas and Sinaloa, known for violence. The
Lexington County "cell" had ties to others in Charlotte, Raleigh and
Atlanta, Wilkins said.

Unpublicized raids in Lexington County in March netted 18 suspects --
11 of whom are Mexicans illegally in the United States. Those were
the initial arrests, officials said.

The FBI began wiretapping those suspects in September. In all, the
agency intercepted communications on 27 telephones, according to a
federal affidavit.

Court papers said the FBI was specifically targeting a Mexican
drug-trafficking organization that was converting large quantities of
cocaine it brought into crack cocaine for distribution in S.C. neighborhoods.

On the Raids

Tuesday, facing overwhelming force, most suspects surrendered without incident.

Reporters and photographers from The State rode along with officers.

Each raid team was accompanied by dogs that can sniff out drugs or
people who might try to hide in a house, as some suspects did. Each
team had a battering ram to knock down doors. And each team had a
member who ran around the back of buildings to spot anyone who might
jump out a rear window.

"You never know how people are going to react," said First Sgt. Jerry
Maldonado, who helps lead the Richland County Sheriff's Department
narcotics division and is an expert with his hand-held steel battering ram.

Suspects were read their legal rights, handcuffed, and loaded into
vans. At some houses, women or older children clutched toddlers in
diapers as they watched their fathers taken into custody. Neighbors
stood silent on porches, eyeing the drama.

In many cases, targets were not at home. Officers moved on to a
backup location for the missing suspect, or on to a new suspect.

Some suspects refused to surrender immediately.

At Brook Pines apartments off Broad River Road, a suspect poked his
head out the front door, then ducked back inside and locked it.
Officers bashed in the door with a battering ram. The man was hiding
in a back bedroom with his girlfriend, but officers had no way of
knowing what he might do.

"Come out now! Put your hands in the air, man. Put them in the air!
Now!" yelled a gun-wielding officer. Eventually, dressed in pajamas
and a T-shirt, the man surrendered.

At a house on Mildred Street in North Columbia, officers were about
to leave without a suspect when Maldonado spotted some insulation on
the floor. Looking up, he saw an attic entrance in the ceiling and
yelled for the suspect -- whom he correctly guessed was hiding
upstairs -- to give up. The suspect quickly did, especially after
officers told him their dog would go into the attic.

Meanwhile, helicopters and airplanes from SLED and the Richland and
Lexington counties sheriffs' departments were on standby in case any
suspect tried to flee.

In Front of a Judge

More than 30 arrested defendants were arraigned Tuesday afternoon
before U.S. Magistrate Joseph McCrorey in Columbia.

All, including four females, were shackled. U.S. marshals escorted
the suspects into the courtroom in two main groups and seated them in
the jury box.

Most defendants indicated they were too poor to afford lawyers. They
were told they would be assigned public defenders or other
court-appointed attorneys.

Defendants were quiet, though one woman told McCrorey she didn't
understand her charges. A male defendant told the judge he needed
dialysis treatments three times a week.

Relatives and friends of defendants packed the courtroom.

Most defendants face charges of conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms
or more of cocaine, 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, and
unspecified amounts of marijuana, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey
Haynes said in unsealing various indictments against the defendants.
Most also were indicted on charges of using a telephone to further a
drug trafficking conspiracy.

In addition to the conspiracy charges, a number of defendants face
charges of possession with intent to distribute 5 or more grams of
crack cocaine.

Federal penalties are steep for drug trafficking in larger
quantities. The conspiracy charge, for example, carries a prison
sentence of 10 years to life and a $4 million fine for someone with
no prior felony drug convictions, and a mandatory life sentence and
an $8 million fine for those with two or more felony drug
convictions, Haynes said.

McCrorey gave secured bonds ranging from $75,000 to $200,000 to some
defendants. Haynes recommended bail be denied for others with serious
prior records; in those cases, McCrorey scheduled detention hearings
for Friday.

One defendant arraigned Tuesday was Travis Gunter, who was detained
on a $100,000 secured bond.

Gunter was arrested about 9:45 am. at a single-wide mobile home on a
dirt stretch of Sharpes Hill Road near Gaston. Two pit bulls chained
to pine trees in the front yard barely reacted as officers surrounded the home.

Gunter, wearing plaid shorts and a T-shirt, opened the door and was
arrested without incident. Officers found no weapons or drugs. A boy
gave Gunter's tennis shoes to officers.

Another boy was in the home at the time, along with a woman. A Crown
Victoria -- a standard police-vehicle model -- and a Chevrolet
Suburban were parked in back.

Authorities stressed all suspects arrested Tuesday face a mandatory
minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life. Prior drug
convictions may substantially increase the time in jail.

Gangs Connection

Authorities declined to estimate what percentage of the large amounts
of cocaine that routinely come into the Midlands had been choked off
because of the raids.

But the FBI's Thomas stressed the operation's significance.

He said law officers across the state have told him gangs that
finance their activities with drug sales are their major problem.

"In too many neighborhoods, too many people are threatened by gang
violence," Thomas said.

SLED Director Reggie Lloyd said the action should be replicated
elsewhere in the state.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said, "The message we want to send
to gang-bangers and drug dealers throughout the Midlands is, 'We're
going to get you.'"

Another observation came from an exuberant Richland County officer,
who exclaimed after one "takedown": "It's great to have a bad guy
going to jail!"