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U.S. Department
of Justice
United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: KATHY COLVIN |
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/TXN |
PHONE: (214)659-8600
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FUGITIVE DEFENDANT IN MAJOR COCAINE DISTRIBUTION RING Pablo Rivera Appears in U.S. District Court in Dallas DALLAS — A defendant who was indicted in the Northern District of Texas in summer 2003 on charges related to his involvement in a major cocaine distribution ring, appeared this afternoon in federal court in Dallas and U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez ordered that he be detained pending trial, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper. Pablo Rivera was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas in June 2003 with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute narcotics. He had been a fugitive but was arrested in Mexico in September and was returned to the Northern District of Texas per extradition orders. Pablo Rivera was charged in the case styled U.S. v. Juan Pablo Elizondo, et al., 3:03 CR 188. In that case, 31 individuals, including Rivera, were charged with various offenses related to their involvement in a major drug distribution organization that operated from Laredo, Texas, to Dallas, and into Oklahoma. The North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force began investigating the drug trafficking activities of Elizondo and other members of his organization in 2002. Elizondo, using a network of individuals to store, transport and distribute cocaine, supplied large amounts of cocaine to the Ellis County, Texas area, and to the Ardmore, Oklahoma area. Millions of dollars in U.S. currency, hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, and numerous weapons, including fully atuomatic assault weapons, were seized during the investigation. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Guess is prosecuting the case. ### . |