Men from Oak Lawn, Palos indicted on fed drug charges

Accused of conspiring to distribute coke and heroin from Mexico

By William Jones

Five area men are among 43 people indicted this week on federal charges of being involved in a drug cartel that reportedly smuggled cocaine, heroin and cash between Mexico and distribution centers in Chicago and New York.

Among the indictments were 10 alleged leaders and high-ranking drug cartel members who have been charged with operating and continuing criminal enterprises or participating in international drug trafficking conspiracies. The indictments came after an investigation by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Department of Justice and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Antonio “T-Bag” Aguilera, 35, Ammer “ATA” Kartoum, 30, and Carlos Hishmeh, 32, all of Oak Lawn, and Juan Rocha, 36, of Palos Hills, are named in the indictment of 16 people who allegedly conspired with each other and Mexican drug lords Pedro Flores and Margarito Flores to distribute cocaine and heroin, according to documents provided by the United States Department of Justice and Chicago FBI.

The Flores brothers reportedly directed a drug-trafficking organization that smuggled cocaine and heroin into the United States, transported it to Chicago for distribution, and then transferred cash from the sale of the narcotics back to Mexico.

The grand jury indictment accused Aguilera of being involved in one or more of the following — unloading, delivering to storage areas, separating and delivering to customers — as well as collecting proceeds and delivering them to people responsible for packaging and sending the money back to Mexico.

Rocha was allegedly responsible for obtaining “stash houses” and other facilities used by the organization. A house in the 7800 block of Palos Hills was one of several locations in the Chicago area used to package cash from the sale of narcotics, documents allege. The documents also claim Rocha received kilograms of cocaine for distribution to his customers.

In a separate indictment, Taha Zaid, 23, of Oak Lawn, is accused of knowingly and intentionally possessing with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine.

The two indictments seek the forfeiture of $1.8 billion as well as vehicles and property in the Chicago area thought to be used in the operation. Cocaine totaling 32,500 kilograms, roughly 3,000 of which came from a recent Chicago investigation, has been seized from Flores Operation, according to the DEA reports. About 2½ ounces of heroin were also seized, according to the indictments.

he charges from Brooklyn and Chicago claim the international operation traces back to 1990, during which time nearly 200 metric tons of cocaine have been imported to the United States and more than $5.8 billion has been smuggled back to Mexico from drug sales in the United States and Canada.

This is part of the August 27, 2009 online edition of The Reporter.

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