Tempe traffic stop led to big drug bust

 A traffic stop in Tempe fifteen months ago has led to the arrest of 200 people. On Tuesday investigators say the probe also led to the seizure of millions of dollars in cash and drugs, investigators say. KJZZ’s  Al Macias reports.

AL MACIAS: Tempe police confiscated cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines worth twelve and a half million dollars. Investigators also seized another 8 million dollars in cash. Police say the drugs belonged to the Sinaloan cartel and that’s where the money was headed.  A Tempe officer set off the investigation after he made a traffic stop last year. Tempe spokesman Sergeant Steve Carbajal says other police departments and agencies joined in.

STEVE CARBAJAL: As the investigation progressed we kept coming up with the same names that the DEA was dealing with as well. So we kind of put everyone together and said yeah we’re seeing the same names over and over again and we decided the best approach would be to pool resources.

AL MACIAS: Carbajal says this bust is the largest investigators have ever seen in Tempe.

 


Pledge Now
Give Monthly
Facebook logo
Twitter logo

Please read our Contributor Confidentiality Policy and the KJZZ Ethics and Practices guidelines. KJZZ supports Equal Employment Opportunities and works against discrimination in employment. For more information, please see KJZZ's Employment and EEO Information page.
For questions or comments about this website, please contact the KJZZ webmaster. For general comments or questions see the Contact KJZZ page for a listing of contacts by topic. Please note: Station policy mandates that listeners who win on-air giveaways on this station are not eligible to win again for 30 days.
Email regarding NPR's coverage, ethics, and funding can be sent to the NPR Ombudsman, who maintains an informative web page. For comments or concerns regarding NPR programs, listeners with a general inquiry may send an email to nprhelp@npr.org

KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College, and Maricopa Community Colleges.
Copyright© 2013 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD