Drug Bust 100 Arrested: How Were The Drugs Smuggled Into The US?

Over 100 people were arrested on Wednesday across southern New England as part of what law enforcement called a "massive operation" to take down heroin and cocaine traffickers. The sting operation involved more than 700 law enforcement officers and began as an effort to combat narcotics trafficking and money-laundering in the southeast Connecticut town of New London. Police have declined to say exactly how many arrests have been made, saying they are still pursuing additional suspects, according to Reuters.

Law enforcement investigators reportedly seized an unspecified amount of narcotics sent in packages from Puerto Rico. The smugglers also transported drugs using human couriers who swallowed bags of heroin before boarding commercial flights bound for the US.

Individuals arrested as part of the sting were transported to US District Court in New Haven to face charges that carry minimum prison sentences of 5 to 10 years, if convicted. About 52 of the arrests were for federal narcotics and money laundering charges, while 51 were for state narcotics and related charges, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

The 15-month investigation into two drug smuggling operations reached into Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Law enforcement officials said that Luis Ariel Capellan Maldonado, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, used the town of New London as a base for his drug distribution network. In addition to procuring multi-kilogram quantities of heroin from the Dominican Republic, he allegedly obtained heroin from sources in New York and Rhode Island. His apartment in New London was said to be the site where he supplied customers with raw heroin, in quantities ranging from 50 to 150 grams.

According to law enforcement, Pedro "Cheito" Rivera, of Groton, Conn., and Luis "Guichan" Zayas of Waterford, Conn., received cocaine through US mail and other systems of transport, and supplied Frankie River, who allegedly used his PR Speedshop business to sell it on the street. Other arrests were made in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico.

Bruce Foucart, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said smugglers had "pretty much made this particular area a gateway for their illegal poison. The fact is, we've dismantled them. We've taken them down."

New London, a harbor city of about 27,600 people on the coast of the Long Island Sound, has recently seen a rise in drug-related violence. US Attorney David Fein described the operation as an unusually major one for such a small place.