Twenty-One Convicted in Multinational Marijuana Bust
September 22, 2004
Tallahassee Democrat
ATLANTA - Federal prosecutors announced 21 convictions Wednesday in what they call the breakup of a major drug ring that shipped thousands of pounds of marijuana from Mexico into the United States.
The investigation began in October 2001, when police found about 5,000 pounds of marijuana at a warehouse in a rural part of Cherokee County.
Local, state and federal authorities discovered the drugs were being trucked from Mexico into several U.S. cities, including Atlanta.
The group was made up of three so-called "cells" in Mexico, Texas and other areas including Atlanta, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Atlanta.
Alfred Padilla Teran, 46, of Porterville, Texas, was charged with being the group's ringleader. He was sentenced to 12 years, 4 months on charges of conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and unlawful money transmitting.
Among the others charged in the scheme was Porfirio Coria-Delgado, 44, of Mexico, who is accused of being the point person for the operation in Atlanta.
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