Drug ring in ABQ has ties to Mexican cartels

FOUR. FEDERAL AGENTS BUST A HUGE MARIJUANA DISTRIBUTION RING BASED IN ALBUQUERQUE -- WITH CON...  More »

FOUR. FEDERAL AGENTS BUST A HUGE MARIJUANA DISTRIBUTION RING BASED IN ALBUQUERQUE -- WITH CONNECTIONS TO MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS. THEY SAY THE GROUP WAS SMUGGLING THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF POT IN FROM MEXICO, AND DELIVERING IT TO OTHER U-S STATES. AS OUR ERIC KAHNERT FOUND OUT ... THE FEDS EVEN HAD TO YANK ONE OF THE SUSPECTS OUT OF THE ARMY TO MAKE AN ARREST. THIS IS THE SOUTH VALLEY HOME OF 40 YEAR OLD FILIMON MANTILLA. FEDERAL AGENTS SAY HE RAN ONE OF THE LARGEST POT DISTRIBUTION RINGS IN RECENT ALBUQUERQUE HISTORY. ON MARCH 19TH, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENTS GOT THIS FEDERAL SEARCH WARRANT SIGNED -- SO THEY COULD GO DIGGING THROUGH THE TRASH OUTSIDE THE HOME OF ONE OF MANTILLA'S ALLEGED ASSOCIATES. INSIDE, THEY FOUND CLEAR TAPE WITH MARIJUANA ON IT. AGENTS THINK THE TAPE WAS USED FOR LARGE BUNDLES OF MARIJUANA -- POSSIBLY KILO SIZED. FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS THE D-E-A HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING MANTILLA. HE, AND 10 OTHERS HAVE RECENTLY BEEN ARRESTED IN THE CASE. AGENTS SAY THE RING IMPORTED MARIJUANA FROM MEXICO TO ALBUQUERQUE -- THEN DISTRIBUTED THE WEED TO OKLAHOMA AND INDIANA. AFTER FOUR YEARS OF WIRE TAPS AND SURVEILLANCE OPERATIONS, AGENTS HAVE MADE 11 BUSTS ...SEIZING MORE THAN 34- HUNDRED POUNDS OF POT AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM THE ORGANIZATION. 'DEA agents say they witnessed one of the drug-runners trying to do counter-surveillance at this gas station here--making sure nobody was following him. They say he pulled up to one of the pumps here, looked around, but never filled up his gas tank. His counter- surveillance didn't work.-17' AGENTS SAY FILIMON MANTILLA'S SON WAS ALSO INVOLVED. HE HAD TO BE PULLED OUT OF THE U-S ARMY AS A RESULT. MANTILLA'S OTHER SON DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO US ON CAMERA, BUT SAID HE HAD NO IDEA HIS DAD WAS INVOLVED IN THE ORGANIZATION, LET ALONE THE ALLEGED RING- LEADER. HE ALSO TOLD US HIS DAD AND BROTHER ARE STILL IN CUSTODY. EKEYWN4. AGENTS TELL US THE MANTILLA ORGANIZATION HAD CONNECTIONS TO SOME OF THE LARGEST DRUG CARTELS IN MEXICO.  « Less