HOUSTON, Texas — Authorities have busted a $1 million car theft ring run by a dangerous Mexican drug cartel and arrested three immigrant members, including one who entered the U.S. illegally and had a lengthy rap sheet. I was arrested.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents obtained by the newspaper, Mexican nationals Edgar Bravo, Jesus Gutierrez-Escamilla and Bernando Fernández-Pereida were arrested on Thursday under the control of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a meat restaurant ring. He was accused of cooperating with the operation.
Officials said Gutierrez-Escamilla entered the United States illegally on an unspecified date more than a dozen years ago and has been in and out of law enforcement custody ever since.
He was arrested in 2012 and convicted of trespassing, according to ICE documents. He served only 20 days in prison and was back on the streets.
He was arrested for a traffic violation in 2016, but was not deported because ICE noted in his docket that he “did not meet enforcement priorities.”
Meanwhile, Fernandez-Pereida was arrested by Border Patrol agents in March 2023, but ICE records do not show how the case was adjudicated.
During Thursday’s attack, The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has been restored. Fourteen vehicles with fraudulent titles were stolen from three chop shops in the Houston area.
“It was pretty much a smooth roundup. There was definitely one guy who got away. We were able to take him into custody. But it was a pretty smooth run. We had a SWAT team… We used them and they were very good at their job and were able to retain everyone.” Said Saul Suarez, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
Ray Donovan, who retired as DEA operations director in April 2023, told the Post that cartels and their associates engage in many forms of crime, not just drug production and trafficking.A car theft ring is also suspected of being involved. Human trafficking.
“There is a network of drug dealers across the United States and in Houston who receive large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico. They are involved not only in drug distribution and trafficking, but also in other criminal activities.” said Donovan.
Donovan described Houston as a “cartel hub.”
“This is just a big transshipment point and kind of an intermediary location. So drugs go to Houston, they go to Atlanta, they go to Chicago,” Donovan said.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced Twenty-three people linked to Jalisco New Generation, a large-scale drug smuggling operation based in part in Houston, have been arrested.
The group is accused of smuggling drugs into the United States and distributing illegal drugs from Houston and Galveston to other parts of the country.
Arrest warrants are still outstanding for the drug lord and 15 other fugitives.
