$1 Million National Drug Crime Ring Busted By San Jose Police

SAN JOSE, CA -- A city police department task force conducted a large-scale narcotics operation last week that targeted a highly-organized criminal organization and led to the arrests of four San Jose men posing as a computer company to mass quantities of drugs nationwide.

The group of suspects was manufacturing and selling drugs throughout San Jose and into the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as transporting narcotics across the country to the southern and eastern parts of the United States, San Jose police report.

Suspect Anthony Le, 42, faces drugs and weapons charges with Barry Phan, 42, Jose Garcia, 41, and Alejandro Garcia, 35.

The San Jose Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit worked in conjunction with the MERGE Unit; Covert Response Unit; Violent Crimes Enforcement Team; Metro Unit; ICAC Unit; K-9 Unit; Field Operations; Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety; Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office; U.S. Postal Inspectors and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to serve six search warrants and four arrest warrants within San Jose and Sunnyvale on Nov. 28.

Agency raids recovered more than 800 pounds of marijuana, a large amount of illegal anabolic steroids, five ounces of concentrated hash oil, powder cocaine, Xanax bars, Ecstasy pills, three handguns and an expended rocket launcher (AT4). Numerous bank accounts were also frozen, and $600,000 was seized. Warehouses in four other states were identified and local agencies from those respective departments acted in collaboration with the San Jose Police Department.

"This was a sophisticated operation. These guys were paid $70,000 in shipping costs in a year," unit Cmdr. Lt. Paul Messier told Patch.

The manifest was laid out as the men posing as a computer company needing to ship product. They would approach shipping companies to set up distribution channels to the East Coast, primarily since marijuana is legal in California but not in many states back east. The revenue made by such a venture net the scheme $1 million. One of the distribution centers was located in the Queens borough of New York City. Other targeted points of interest are in Tennessee and Maryland, Messier added.

Messier said he didn't know the purpose of the rocket launcher seized.

This operation was the culmination of a two-year long investigation, which is not over. The four San Jose men arrested in this case were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for various charges, including manufacturing and transporting of narcotics and possession of illegal weapons.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the San Jose Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit at 408-277-4041. Want to stay anonymous? Call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 408-947-7867.

--Image courtesy of San Jose Police Department