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Higuero-Guerrero had been the most blatant member of the
AFO directing operations in Tijuana for years.
At the beginning of 2002, AFO was dealt two huge blows:
First, its infamous and brutal enforcer and assassin Ramon
Arellano Felix was killed in a street fight with drug trafficking
competitors and Mexican police, then, a month later, the AFO’s
overall Chief of Operations, Benjamin Arellano-Felix, was arrested
in Puebla, Mexico, by the Mexican Military.
Operation Crossfire (2002)
On April 10, 2002, Operation Crossfire, a bi-lateral anti-corruption
investigation conducted in collaboration with federal
Mexican Government officials, resulted in the arrest of 42 active
federal, state, and local law enforcement officers from
Mexicali, Tijuana, and Ensenada. These arrests included the
Tijuana Chief of Police, heads of the State Judicial Police in
Tijuana, Tecate, and Mexicali; and the Assistant State Attorney
General. All of them were assisting the Arellano-Felix
Organization.
Drug Smuggling Tunnels
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Reports of drug smuggling tunnels increased significantly in
late 2002 and early 2003. Traffickers may have increased their
use of subterranean smuggling in light of increased border
security, either real or perceived. Mexican drug trafficking
organizations had used tunnels as a smuggling method since
at least 1990. All of the narco-tunnels seized were in California
(in the San Diego-Tijuana area) and Arizona (Douglas,
Naco, and Nogales). At least 13 tunnels were discovered.
Narco-tunnels ranged in sophistication from a 16-inch PVC
pipe; to tunnels dug off of drainage systems; to well-engineered
tunnels equipped with electricity, ventilation, and rails.
DEA, in cooperation with Mexico’s Policia Federal Preventiva,
discovered one of the most significant drug smuggling tunnels
on February 27, 2002. It was approximately 4 feet by 4
feet, more than 800 feet long, and 20 feet underground. It was
equipped with its own ventilation system, lighting, and rails
on which an electronic cart moved drugs. The Mexican entrance
was hidden behind a fireplace in a home near Tecate,
Mexico, and the U.S. exit was concealed under a stairway in a
home in Boulevard, California. About 300 pounds of marjuana
were seized from inside the tunnel. Ownership of the tunnel
was attributed to the Jose Albino Quintero-Meraz organization.