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In some instances, these wastes have been indiscriminately
dumped into pits, streams, lakes, septic tanks, and along the
roadside.
Cleaning up a seized clandestine drug laboratory can be a
complex, dangerous, and expensive undertaking. The DEA
hazardous waste program has been successful, however, in
promoting the safety of law enforcement personnel and the
public, protecting the environment, and minimizing the
agency’s liability. Through the use of nation-wide contracts,
DEA’s program promoted the safety of law enforcement personnel
and the public by using highly qualified companies
with specialized training and equipment to perform the removal
of the wastes at the seized laboratory. Using these
contractors reduces the risk of injury to law enforcement personnel
and the public from the clean up of the seized laboratory.
The program has become increasingly more efficient as DEA
gained more experience in cleaning up clandestine drug laboratories.
The average cost per cleanup in the FY1991-1992
time frame was $17,000. While the number of clandestine
drug laboratory cleanups rose, the average cost per cleanup
continued to go down. Through contract improvements and
DEA’s contract management experience, the costs of a removal
were subsequently reduced to approximately $4,000 in
FY2000 and to less than $3,300 in FY2002.
New hazardous waste contracts became effective in FY2003.
The new contracts include many time and cost saving tools
to help address the field’s concerns and the dramatic increase
in workload. The new contracts are expected to significantly
improve the response time by increasing the number of Contract
Areas from 29 to 44 and requiring response facilities in
each. The greater competition created by smaller Contract
Areas and new cost reduction factors should result in additional
cost savings for the government, while maintaining
strict environmental compliance standards. In addition, the
new contracts contain provisions for weekly pickups from
containers in states that establish a container storage program
and have entered into a Letter of Agreement with DEA
to provide this service. DEA began discussions regarding a
pilot container program with several states in FY2002 to determine
the feasibility and degree of cost savings associated
with the approach.
63
Targeting the Arellano-Felix
Trafficking Organization
(2000-2002)
The Arellano Felix Organization (AFO), often referred to as
the Tijuana Cartel, was considered one of the most powerful
and violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. At the
height of its power, the AFO was responsible for the transportation,
importation, and distribution of multi-ton quantities
of cocaine, marijuana, and large quantities of heroin and
methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico—primarily
from Tijuana into San Diego and Los Angeles.
DEA offices in Mexico and the United States, most notably
Tijuana, San Diego, and Los Angeles, relentlessly pursued
the principal members of this organization in an effort to
bring about their downfall. The most prominent members of
the AFO were brothers Benjamin, Eduardo, Ramon, and Francisco
Javier Arellano Felix; Ismael Higuera Guerrero; Jesus
Labra Aviles; Manuel Aguirre Galindo; and Ismael Higuera-
Guerrero. Jesus Labra Aviles, long considered the financial
mastermind of the organization, was arrested in Mexico City
in March 2000 by the Government of Mexico with the support
of DEA’s Tijuana office. This was followed by the arrest
of major AFO Lieutenant Ismael Higuera-Guerrero two months
later in May 2000. He, too, was arrested by the Mexican
Government in coordination with DEA’s Tijuana
office.