SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The FBI said Tuesday that is has dismantled a powerful drug trafficking organization in Puerto Rico with ties to the U.S. and the Dominican Republic that generated more than $100 million in revenue.
The 27 suspects indicted are accused of conspiring to import cocaine
from the Dominican Republic into Puerto Rico to sell it on the U.S. mainland and in Puerto Rico's northern and central regions. The revenue was then used to buy boats, cars and businesses, according to the indictment.
"They are one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, organizations in Puerto Rico and probably the Caribbean in the last 20 years," Carlos Cases, Puerto Rico-based FBI special agent in charge, said in a phone interview.
Previous leaders and associates of the group include convicted drug dealer Jose Figueroa Agosto, once dubbed the "Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean," and Angel Ayala Vazquez, once considered Puerto Rico's top drug dealer and sentenced to life in prison in December 2011.
The suspects are accused of moving at least 9,000 kilograms (19,800 pounds) of cocaine from May 2005 to June 2010, and of sending at least $8 million in cash to the Dominican Republic aboard a private yacht, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
