Village of Nautila a Hotbed for Drug Trafficking

U.S. federal authorities arrested five men this month suspected of being part of a cocaine distribution network made up primarily of people from the Mexican coastal town of Nautla.^[1]

Although the arrests focused on the distribution side, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigators also obtained information about some of the group's customers.^[2] “The bulk of the users tend to be middle-class, white-collar professionals who live (in) or frequent coastal San Diego,” DEA spokesman Dan Simmons said, he added that prosecutors will eventually decide whether to pursue drug-possession charges against the customers, who could face probation or prison time if convicted.^[3]

U.S. authorities said Rene Palacios Correa, who remains at large, is the suspected leader of those who were arrested this month. Palacios Correa is known to travel between San Diego and Veracruz, where Nautla is located.^[4] The cell is one of about a dozen groups operating in San Diego with ties to the fishing village of Nautla, and this is a prime example of the new convergence of illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Residents from the small town are smuggled into San Diego to work for the drug rings, the drugs, brought into the United States separately, are obtained from wholesalers.^[5] “Apparently there is a prevailing feeling in Nautla, Mexico, that cocaine trafficking in San Diego is the road to riches,” said Alan Poleszak, the DEA's acting special agent in charge in San Diego, in a written statement condemning the groups' activities.^[6]

Earlier this month, Ramiro Sanchez Davila was arrested in San Diego's North Park after a small amount of cocaine was found in his car; a search warrant was then issued for his house, where U.S. authorities arrested three men on July 10: Fernando Cobos Palacios, Javier Verjel Ochoa, and his brother, Pablo Verjel Ochoa. Authorities asserted that they found more than half a kilogram of cocaine and $24,787 inside the home.^[7]

A day later, the group's suspected local manager, Armando Correa Gutierrez, was arrested in National City.^[8] All five men face drug-trafficking charges, and U.S. authorities allege the group's delivery workers were paid about $500 a week, and the manager about $1,000 a week. They allegedly were sending back as much as $5,000 a week to Palacios Correa, U.S. authorities said.^[9]

Federal criminal attorney Douglas McNabb has also previously discussed drug trafficking in his blog, here.

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^[1] Anna Cearley, Customers in U.S. could be charged, too, San Diego Union Tribune, July 18, 2007, available at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20070718-9999-7m18dea.html (last visited July 18, 2007).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.