Fox News wrote:Feds Arrest 400+ As Part Of Border Strategy
June 10, 2010 - 10:00 AM | by: Mike Levine

In what they are are calling their "most extensive and most successful" operation ever targeting Mexican drug cartels, federal authorities on Wednesday launched raids across the country and arrested more than 400 people, according to U.S. officials.

The raids were the culmintation of a 22-month investigation by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, who have now captured more than 2,200 suspects, according to officials speaking a press conference in Washington on Thursday morning.

The entire operation, dubbed "Project Deliverance," dealt a "debilitating blow" to a network of people inside the United States who act on behalf of Mexican drug cartels and contribute to the rising violence along the U.S.-Mexican border, DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart said.

"[Project] Deliverance continues a deliberate and strategic effort to cut off and shut down the supply of drugs entering our country, and the flow of drug profits and guns to Mexico," Leonhart said. "The stakes are extraordinarily high, and this massive operation is a milestone in our tireless assault onj these violent drug cartels."

During the operation, law enforcement agents also seized large quantities of U.S. money, cocaine, marijuana and weapons, officials said. On Wednesday alone, $5.8 million, 2,951 pounds of marijuana, 112 kilograms of cocaine, 141 weapons and 85 vehicles were seized.

Charges were brought and arrests made in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington state and Mexico. In total, 429 suspects were arrested on Wednesday.

Among those arrested during Project Deliverance was Carlos Ramon Castro-Rocha, an alleged "kingpin" of a drug trafficking organization who was designated a "Consolidated Priority Organization Target," according to the DEA.

Based on an arrest warrant issued in the United States, Mexican authorities arrested Castro-Rocha on May 30. He has been indicted in North Carolina and Arizona, for allegedly trafficking heroin into the United States, U.S. authorities said.

Officials said Project Deliverance is part of the Obama administration's broader strategy to stem violence along the U.S.-Mexican border. A significant part of that strategy targets Mexican drug cartels.

"This successful operation is just one battle in an ongoing war," Attorney General Eric Holder said. "So long as cartels and smugglers attempt to wreak havoc on our borders, we will continue to target them with every resource available to the federal government."

ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton said that while drug trafficking has not come to an end, Project Deliverance has made it harder for many in the "corrupt" and "violent business."

"There are a lot of people this morning who wish they had made a better career choice in life," he said.

In October, federal authorities launched a major strike targeting the Mexico-based La Familia drug cartel, arresting more than 300 people in one day across the country. Officials described La Familia as one of the newest and most violent cartels.

Morton said similar anti-cartel operations would be conducted in the future.

"Stay tuned," he said.

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/10/feds-arrest-400-as-part-of-border-strategy/