UNDERCOVER WORK PAYS OFF IN DRUG INDICTMENTS

Drug dealers responsible for the flow of large amounts crystal
methamphetamine into Northeast Alabama from Mexico are off the streets
after a three-year undercover operation dubbed "Rolling Thunder,"
authorities said Tuesday.

Dozens of local, state and federal agents have been on the streets the last
three days, arresting at least 11 people indicted by a federal grand jury.
At least 11 people named in federal indictments already were in jail.

Agents still are looking for five people from Etowah County.

One indictment names 21 people who were charged with conspiracy to
distribute more than 500 grams of meth in Etowah County as part of the
"Zavala" organization, U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin said Tuesday in a news
conference.

The second indictment names four people as part of the "Corona"
organization, which attempted to distribute more than 500 grams of meth
from Marshall County on March 15.

The third indictment names two people who had more than 50 grams of meth
and intended to distribute in DeKalb County on July 9, 2001.

In addition to the 27 federal indictments, an Etowah County man was
arrested on state charges of trafficking in crystal meth.

Numerous guns, surveillance equipment and other evidence that supports that
meth was being sold were found at a house raided early Monday at 8844
Scenic Highway in the Tabor community, Etowah County Sheriff James Hayes said.

Aaron Lewis McElroy, 48, who lived at the house, has been charged with
trafficking in crystal meth and is being held on a $100,000 cash bond.
McElroy is expected to be charged federally later, Hayes said.

"We believe he has been a major drug player in Etowah County," Hayes said.

Martin said 13 of the 27 people named in the federal indictments are
Hispanic and all the drugs involved in the indictments were imported from
Mexico.

These arrests do not affect the growing problem of locally produced meth in
clandestine labs, Hayes said.

"We expect to see a growth in the number of labs we're seeing," Hayes said.
"We're trying to get more certified officers to enter labs."

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force began in 2000 a joint
investigation into large-scale methamphetamine trafficking in the Northeast
Alabama area.

The investigation got its Rolling Thunder code name because agents expected
to "roll" through several counties and wanted to make the impact of thunder
when they struck, officials said.

The joint investigation was conducted by the FBI, Etowah County Sheriff's
Department and the drug task forces in Etowah, DeKalb and Marshall
counties. Police departments in Gadsden, Rainbow City, Attalla and
Southside, along with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the
Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Department of Forensic
Sciences provided assistance in the investigations, Martin said.

Rolling Thunder already has produced related federal charges and
convictions against Ronald Lynn Canada, Darren Lee Tucker, Hector Cortina,
Sidney Fitts and Diane Entrekin.

The officers from many agencies have shared not only office space, but
information that has led to these arrests, FBI spokesman Alton Sizemore said.

"These officers have put their lives on the line," Sizemore said. "They put
in long hours on nights, weekends and holidays."

These arrests are only the first phase of Rolling Thunder, Sizemore said.

The investigation is extremely active and it is anticipated that similar or
related charges against many others will be soon presented to the federal
grand jury, Martin said.

"We're sending the message that you can run, but you can't hide," Sizemore
said. "If you're a drug dealer out there, we're coming after you."

Authorities identified those arrested as part of the Zavala organization as:

* Arturo Zavala, 25, Fernando Zavala, 20, Jesus Zavala, 18, Lorenzo M.
Trejo, 29, Anastasia Jalpa, 64, Craig Lee Mullinax, 29, Richard Kevin
Sanford, 27, Cody Shane Underwood, 21, Robert John Beam, 25, Lester Ray
Renfroe II, 27, and Gerri Carrollane Couch, 27, all of Gadsden; George
Kenneth Lindsey, 41, of Glencoe; Miguel Zavala, 36, of Blount County; Tonya
Handley, 25, of Etowah County; Jeffrey Lynn Langford, 21, and Glenn Douglas
Smith, 42, both of Piedmont.

The FBI is asking for anyone with information about five people indicted
but not yet arrested to call the Gadsden FBI office at 547-0522 or the
Etowah County Sheriff's Department at 546-2825.

The FBI identified those five as:

*Javier Zavala, also known as Javier Miguez, 29, Oscar Jose Nuno, 23,
Jeffery Morris Beam Jr., 22, and Larry James Jacobs, 27, all of Gadsden,
and Donnie Wayne Kittle, 33, of Glencoe.

Arrests as part of the Corona organization in Marshall County were:

* Ricardo Aguilar Corona, 26, of Albertville; Jaime Martinez Ponce, 27,
Isreal Martinez, 26, and Pedro Hernandez, 25, all of Marshall County.

Arrests in DeKalb County were:

* Alexandro Cordova, 28, of Collinsville, and Jennifer Leigh Cheaves, 26,
of Attalla.