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the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, assisted by the Lebanese
military and the Syrian military, eradicated approximately
7 million square meters of opium poppy in the Bekaa Valley.
In August 2002, approximately 9 million square meters of cannabis
were eradicated in the Bekaa. DEA Specials Agents,
along with other drug enforcement liaison officers, were in­
Operations Pipedreams/
HeadHunter (2003)
On February 24, 2003, DEA successfully completed
Operations Pipedreams and Head Hunter, a nationwide
sweep of major drug paraphernalia distributors
and businesses.The coordinated operations
netted 55 individuals across the country and seized
$150,000 cash. As a result of this operation, 11
Internet sites were taken offline and redirected. Targeted
companies sold half of the nation’s supply
of drug paraphernalia and accounted for more than
a quarter of a billion dollars in retail drug paraphernalia
sales annually. Using both traditional retail
stores and Internet websites, the distributors were
one-stop shops for drug dealers and users, selling
everything from miniature scales, pipes, bongs,
cocaine freebase kits, and cutting agents to dilute
processed drugs in their raw form. Approximately
115 tons of drug paraphernalia with an estimated
wholesale value of $15-20 million were removed
from the sites as well.
Critical to the success of Operation
Pipedreams was the use of Internet intercepts
on e-commerce sites and e-mail accounts to
track the money and domestic and international
shipments of drug paraphernalia.
Operation Pipedreams was conducted by
DEA offices in Des Moines, Iowa; Boise,
Idaho; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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vited to witness the eradication initiatives. Being in the Bekaa
Valley for a DEAAgent was likened to finding the Holy Grail
for an archeologist. This eradication initiative was expected
to have a significant impact on the availability of heroin and
marijuana in Western Europe in 2003.
Arrest of Osiel Cardenas-
Guillen in Mexico (2003)
On March 14, 2003, Mexican officials brought the reign of
Osiel Cardenas-Guillen to an end. He was arrested at a residence
in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, following a fierce
firefight with Mexican police. Before his arrest, Cardenas
was the head of a drug trafficking organization that controlled
large-scale marijuana and cocaine trafficking through
the smuggling corridor between Matamoros, Mexico and
Brownsville, Texas. Cardenas had numerous resources that
enabled him to maintain 15 to 25 heavily armed bodyguards
at all times, protection and support from all levels of Mexican
law enforcement, and technical assistance from the Mexican
phone company.
Through the combined efforts with the Government of Mexico,
the DEA, FBI, and U.S. Customs, the Cardenas reign on the
Northeastern Mexico corridor came to a halt. This investigation,
called “Operation Golden Grips” was an important arrest
because it sent a message to traffickers that violence and
intimidation did not protect them from law enforcement.
The catalyst of this operation was the November 1999 assault
and attempted kidnapping of 2 U.S. Federal agents and
a confidential source. During the assault, Cardenas and 12 to
15 members of his organization, armed with assault rifles,
surrounded a vehicle occupied by the agents and attempted
to kidnap them and a confidential source who was in the car.
Only after an extensive discussion between one of the agents
and Cardenas were the agents allowed to leave the scene and
travel directly to the border. The agents were followed to the
border by members of the Cardenas organization.