Cocaine pipeline from Texas busted

A high-volume cocaine pipeline between Texas and Minnesota, with ties to one of Mexico's most violent crime syndicates, was severed in early morning raids Wednesday by federal agents, authorities said.

Federal indictments charging 26 people in Minnesota and south Texas with drug trafficking were unsealed Wednesday, completing a yearlong investigation into an organization run by a mother and her three sons.

Based in and around McAllen, Texas, they allegedly sent couriers to deliver 5 to 15 kilos of uncut cocaine a month into Minnesota over the past four years -- and still couldn't keep up with Minnesota's demand for the drug, authorities said. Each kilo sold for between $25,000 and $35,000, according to authorities.

The bust was significant because it stopped high-level traffickers with direct connections to Mexico's Gulf Cartel, authorities said. But they acknowledged that it will only temporarily disrupt the flow of drugs into Minnesota.

Simultaneous raids were conducted Wednesday morning in Bloomington and Brooklyn Park in the metro area, in St. Cloud, Cold Spring and St. Wendel Township in central Minnesota, and in Texas.

By mid-afternoon, 23 of the people named in the indictment were in custody. Ten of the people indicted are from Minnesota and another is from Wisconsin, authorities said. The three who remained at large are from Texas.

One of the Minnesotans indicted and arrested is David P. Harlander, a St. Joseph resident employed by Stearns County. He worked in the county's building services unit and had "some'' access to the Sheriff's Department offices, according to Chief Deputy Bruce Bechtold. However, he said that Harlander did not have security access to offices where the county's drug task force investigators worked.

Undercover work

Over the past year, in targeted undercover buys and arrests made to look as if they were random events not tied to the overall investigation, authorities said they confiscated between 35 to 50 kilos of cocaine, $2.5 million in property and more than $550,000 in cash.

Maria I. Aleman and her sons -- Roberto, Daniel and Juan -- were arrested by federal agents in the McAllen-Hidalgo area on the Rio Grande River border with Mexico. They are named as the chief defendants in the Minnesota indictment and are expected to make their first federal court appearance in Texas today.

At the same time, authorities in Minnesota raided a Bloomington house at 8225 Clinton Av. S., and a mobile home southwest of St. Cloud. The trailer court was considered the main distribution hub allegedly used by the Aleman's to supply mid-level dealers throughout outstate Minnesota, authorities said.

Based on information gathered from wiretapped conversations and informants, authorities learned that the Alemans were directly supplied by the Gulf Cartel, which traffics heavily in cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine. The cartel is a chief rival of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Gulf Cartel has recruited former members of the Mexican Army's special forces -- known as Las Zetas -- used to keep its Mexican drug routes intact. They are considered an extremely violent paramilitary gang.

Roberto Aleman allegedly had conversations with cartel lieutenants to order large amounts of cocaine, authorities said. Known as "Cono,'' Aleman allegedly sent drug couriers by bus, plane or car into Minnesota. He and his brothers would often meet them in Minnesota and direct the distribution of the drug and the collection of cash after the kilos were sold, authorities said.

Interception in Burnsville

The Aleman family was repeatedly asked by mid-level drug dealers in Minnesota to find ways to increase its cocaine shipments because of the high demand, authorities said.

Just last Sunday, the courier network appeared to be running true to form until federal agents stepped in to intercept a drug run that ended at a Burnsville bus station, a south suburban landing point the complaint said was used by the Alemans' ring.

Esaul (Pajaro) Miranda and Arcelia Reyes -- named in the indictment -- were traveling by bus from Texas to Minnesota, hiding two kilos of cocaine, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

Federal drug agents had learned that Reyes would be carrying the cocaine in her bag, while Miranda was responsible for distribution of the drugs, the complaint stated. When the pair stepped off the bus, agents said they approached Miranda and that she consented to having her bag containing the drugs searched.

One of Wednesday's raids was at a small white house in a working class neighborhood of Bloomington, about a mile southwest of the I-494 intersection with Nicollet Avenue. At 6:30 a.m., a handful of officers could be seen through the open front door searching the living room.

No one home anymore

A St. Paul police officer standing guard in front of the house at 8225 Clinton Ave. S. said there were no residents to arrest.

Next-door neighbor Tyler Christensen said the last known occupants of the house were members of a small family who kept to themselves. He said the house drew sporadic visitors after it was left empty by the family, an activity that raised suspicion among neighbors. "We always thought something unusual was going on,'' he said.

The 26 people under indictment:

Roberto (Cono) Aleman, Hidalgo, Texas; Maria I. Aleman, Hidalgo; Juan F. Aleman, Swanville, Minn.; Daniel A. Aleman, Hidalgo; Ernesto (Neto) Guzman, Hidalgo; Esaul (Pajaro) Miranda, Hidalgo; Jesus (Yope) Villanueva, Mission, Texas; Nicholas (Nico) Munoz, Burnsville; Josue (Pee Wee) Garza, Mission, Texas; Emily (Zapata) Balderas, McAllen, Texas; Arcelia Reyes, McAllen; Andres G. Fegaroa, Mission; Maria (Marilu) Stay, Princeton, Minn.; Maria (Malena) Almaguer, Cold Spring, Minn.; Oscar (Emilio) Limon, Faribault, Minn.; Bartolo (Ricky) Vega, Jr., Owatonna, Minn; Carlos (Charlie) Martinez, Owatonna; David P. Harlander, St. Joseph, Minn.; Luiz (Wicho) Flores, St. Paul; Refugio (Kookie) Muniz, Donnelly, Minn.; Rafael Quintanilla, Hidalgo; Ricardo Quintanilla, Hidalgo; Luiz M. Roman, Hidalgo; Miriam Leal, Mission; Alejandro Paz, Hidalgo; Martin Jimenez, North Freedom, Wis.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said a 27th person, Rodolfo Tello-Aros, 43, Brooklyn Park, was charged Wednesday with one count of possession with intent to distribute about 1,000 grams of cocaine in connection with the drug organization.

pmac@startribune.com tonyk@startribune.com