16 January 2002

Customs Service Outlines Bilateral Probe of Colombian Money Laundering

The governments of the United States and Colombia have jointly pursued a two-and-a-half-year investigation into Colombian "money brokers" and their laundering organizations, the U.S. Customs Service announced in a January 16 press release.

Known as "Operation Wirecutter," the investigation has thus far resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals and the seizure of more than $8 million, 400 kilos of cocaine, 100 kilos of marijuana, and 6.5 kilos of heroin, according to the Customs Service.

U.S. officials praised the role of Colombian law enforcement agencies in ensuring the operation's success. Operation Wirecutter "shows what we can do when U.S. and Colombian agencies work together," said Michael Chertoff, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department's criminal division. "By identifying the financial brokers, we do more than freeze assets, we root out those who make the illegal money trail work."

Following is the text of the press release:

U.S. Customs Service

Press Release

Wednesday, January 16, 2002

"Operation Wirecutter" Dismantles Network of Major Colombian Money Launderers

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Robert C. Bonner; Treasury Under Secretary for Enforcement Jimmy Gurule; Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff; Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Asa Hutchinson; and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Colombian Embassy, Juan Esteban Orduz, today announced the results of a two-and-a-half-year investigation into Colombian "money brokers" and their laundering organizations.

Called "Operation Wirecutter," the undercover investigation has thus far resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals -- 29 in the United States and 8 in Colombia. U.S. authorities have also seized more than $8 million, as well as 400 kilos of cocaine, 100 kilos of marijuana, 6.5 kilos of heroin, 9 firearms, and 6 vehicles during this case. Charges against the defendants in this case have been filed in the Southern District of New York, the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of Florida, and the District of Puerto Rico.

The primary defendants in Operation Wirecutter are 8 senior money brokers, also known as black-market peso brokers, located in Bogota, Colombia. Arrested yesterday by Colombian authorities, these individuals are believed to have a combined 50-years experience laundering drug money for Colombian cartels. Each of these money brokers headed distinct organizations that provided money laundering services to several cartels on a "contract" basis.

Each broker has been charged with money laundering violations in the Southern District of New York.

Operation Wirecutter marked the first time that U.S. authorities have been able to combine undercover pick-ups of drug proceeds in this country with investigative efforts by Colombian authorities to target money brokers. Undercover Customs agents performed money pickups in the U.S., while Colombia's Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad worked with U.S. Customs and the DEA to conduct parallel investigations in Colombia. By combining these resources, authorities in both countries were able to monitor the money laundering process "full circle" -- watching drug funds enter the system in the U.S. and exit the system in Colombia.

The brokers are accused of using a money laundering system known as the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). Decades old, the BMPE is a trade-based money laundering scheme that handles billions in drug dollars annually. It is among the primary means by which cartels convert U.S-based drug dollars into "clean" pesos in Colombia. The BMPE has a devastating impact on Colombia's economy by fostering a contraband trade that undercuts legitimate businesses and deprives the Colombian government of hundreds of millions in tax revenue.

Operation Wirecutter began in September 1999 when U.S. Customs Service agents of the multi-agency "El Dorado" Task Force in New York developed information about two suspected money brokers, Hermes Torres and Norberto Romero Garavito. These individuals were believed to be laundering money for the Alberto Orlandez Gamboa (a.k.a. "Caracol") drug cartel on Colombia's North Coast and several other cartels in Colombia.

Over the ensuing months, undercover U.S. Customs agents in New York posing as money launderers entered into agreements with these brokers. On instructions from the money brokers, undercover Customs agents began picking up drug currency in various U.S. cities and wiring it to accounts specified by the brokers.

In September 2000, the DEA's Special Operations Division began assisting the probe and identified Hermes Torres as a primary target of the DEA's Country Office in Colombia. Agents from Customs and the DEA agreed to merge their cases. Both agencies agreed to work with the Colombian DAs in Colombia, while U.S. Customs arranged drug money pickups in the U.S.

Over the next few months, U.S. Customs agents picked up drug money from operatives of the money brokers in New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the same time, the Colombian DAs conducted a parallel investigation on the money brokers and their associates in Colombia. These combined efforts resulted in leads against dozens of other individuals, including additional money brokers in Colombia and their U.S. operatives.

Early yesterday, officers of the Colombian Das arrested the 8 accused money brokers in Bogota, while U.S. Customs agents made 12 arrests in New York, Miami, and San Juan. U.S. authorities also seized cash and assets in several bank accounts. There are 8 fugitives.

U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner said: "Operation Wirecutter was unprecedented in that it combined the best investigative techniques of U.S. and Colombian law enforcement to bring down major players in the world of drug money laundering. I am especially proud of the U.S. Customs agents in New York City who continued to pursue this ground-breaking case despite the wholesale destruction of their offices in the September 11 terrorist attacks."

According to Jimmy Gurule, Undersecretary for Enforcement at the Treasury Department, "Operation Wirecutter is an example of close international partnership, tight interagency coordination, and a mutual commitment to shutting down financial infrastructures that make these criminal acts profitable."

Michael Chertoff, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Criminal Division, stated: "Operation Wirecutter shows what we can do when U.S. and Colombian agencies work together. By identifying the financial brokers, we do more than freeze assets, we root out those who make the illegal money trail work."

According to DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson: "The success of Operation Wirecutter demonstrates the need for law enforcement to focus on the shadowy world of money laundering. By integrating electronic surveillance with investigative intelligence, U.S. and Colombian officials tracked millions of dollars laundered through the Black Market Peso Exchange and arrested the principle money launderers involved in the conspiracy."

Luis Alberto Moreno, Colombia's ambassador to the United States, said: "Cooperation between Colombia and the United States on money laundering issues is critical to the drug war and to combat global terrorism. This operation is an example of the progress we can realize when Colombian and U.S. agencies work together and it serves as a model for how other nations around the world will have to work together if we are going to be successful in shutting down global narco-trafficking and terrorist networks."

The eight accused money brokers are:

• Norberto Honorio Romero Garavito, d.o.b. 9/19/59

• Bernardo Pelaez Roldan, d.o.b. 5/9/45

• Maria Sara Lopez Varela, d.o.b. 8/11/56

• Jorge Duran Duran, d.o.b. 3/14/55

• Ramiro Mansano, d.o.b. 9/7/63

• Hermes Romualdo Torres Suescin, d.o.b. 4/21/56

• Luis Dario Torres Suescin, d.o.b. 2/XX/58

• Pablo Roberto Trujillo Devila, d.o.b. 3/13/56

Each of these money brokers has been indicted in the Southern District of New York. The charges contained in the indictments are merely allegations. As in all federal criminal cases, each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.