Midwest Investigative Support Center named the best in the nation

On June 21, the Kansas City-based Midwest High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Investigative Support Center was named the top HIDTA in the nation by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, besting 26 other centers nationwide at an awards program in Washington, D.C.

Staffed by several KCPD members, Midwest HIDTA was recognized for providing critical intelligence linkages that support federal, state and local law enforcement officers. They supported 890 investigations in 2010, a 33 percent increase over the previous year. Several of these investigations were massive in scale, spreading across the United States and Mexico. These were organizations that dump literally tons of drugs into the Kansas City area and throughout the Midwest. The intelligence gathered and analyzed by the local Investigative Support Center led to the identity and arrest of key players in several of these drug-trafficking organizations and the seizure of thousands of pounds of narcotics.

Our Investigative Support Center also has helped law enforcement agencies nationwide who intercept drugs transported by traffickers share information with each other. This helps target the larger-scale national and international organizations that funnel in the drugs that can destroy urban neighborhoods.

Congratulations to Midwest HIDTA Investigative Support Center and the officers who work there, proving once again that some of the best cops in the United States are right here at KCPD.

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KCPD detective named International Interdiction Detective of the Year

Unfortunately, I can’t show you the face of Detective Tony Garcia, who has been named the International Narcotics Interdiction Association Detective of the Year. This makes Detective Garcia the best interdiction detective in the United States. Our Drug Interdiction Section is charged with stopping the transportation of drugs (usually large quantities) in Kansas City.

What I can show you is Detective Garcia’s canine partner, Franz, who is pictured above with 8 pounds of cocaine the pair recovered last week from a passenger train. Franz joined Detective Garcia in 2006, but even before that, Garcia had an impressive record. Below is what Detective Garcia has recovered in the past year and since he joined the Interdiction Section in 2002:

                  April 2010-11     2002-2011
Marijuana     422.5 lbs.          4,761 lbs.

Cocaine         29.5 lbs.           101 lbs.

Hashish           2.0 lbs.             2 lbs.  

PCP               2 gallons          5 gallons

Meth              ---                    19.7 pounds

Khat               2 lbs.              34 lbs.
U.S. currency    $703,481          $2,073,466

 A big congratulations to Detective Garcia (and Franz), and more proof that the best law enforcement officers in the nation work right here at the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.

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Police take down major marijuana-trafficking ring with ties to Jamaica

A big congratulations to our Drug Enforcement Unit, whose investigation, along with that of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, culminated in a jury finding eight drug traffickers guilty last week.

In 2008, the DEA and KCPD Drug Enforcement Unit began a large-scale investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Gladstone McDowell. McDowell was a career narcotics trafficker in the Kansas City metropolitan area. During the investigation, DEA and KCPD identified that the McDowell was part of a large-scale international organization that trafficked large amounts of high-grade marijuana throughout the United States with ties to Jamaica.

After a two-year investigation, 20 people were federally indicted in the U.S. District Court in Kansas for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and money laundering. Of the 20 who were indicted, nine went to trial, and the other 11 pleaded guilty. 

On April 28, 2011, the jury rendered guilty verdicts for 8 of the 9 defendants.

During the two-year investigation, the following evidence and assets were recovered/seized:

-1500 pounds of marijuana
-9 real-estate properties belonging to the drug trafficking organization 
-$170,000 in cash in Kansas City, Mo
-8 vehicles belonging to the drug trafficking organization

Gladstone McDowell, 60,  faces life in federal prison for his involvement in this organization.

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Narcotics and Vice Quarterly has great information

Because of the kind of under-cover work they do, you typically don't hear very much from KCPD's Narcotics and Vice Division. But every day, they're out there fighting some of the most dangerous criminals in this city, breaking up drug-trafficking rings, fighting crimes like prostitution and illegal gambling and monitoring licensed businesses.

We've long wanted to convey to you what they're doing, and the new Narcotics & Vice Quarterly does just that. This newsletter not only has detailed statistics about where drug busts are taking place, how they're being prosecuted, and what kinds of drugs are most prevalent in Kansas City, it also includes articles about emerging trends in drugs and other illegal activity in the area. The newsletter will be produced quarterly. The first edition covers the first quarter of 2010, January 1 through March 31. The second issue is due out soon. Printed versions of the newsletters also will soon be available at patrol division stations and Headquarters.

Please take the time to read this newsletter. It has important information about a dangerous new way of making meth, potent drugs being marketed to children and illegal gambling machines in the reach of children at Kansas City convenience stores. Also be sure to check out all the ways you can reported suspected drug activity to the police department.

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Operation breaks up major drug trafficking ring in Kansas City

Led by the Kansas City Missouri Police Department’s Narcotics and Vice Division, one of the city’s largest-ever investigations into narcotics trafficking led to the arrest of 18 people yesterday who are involved in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine in Kansas City.

A federal grand jury indicted 23 people on May 26 on drugs and weapons charges. Kansas City Police and federal law enforcement agents arrested 18 of them yesterday in Kansas City and one in St. Louis. Three remain federal fugitives (more information on them is below). One, 22-year-old John L. Hooker, was found deceased on May 27 behind a home in the 4500 block of Askew. Read more about those indicted and their charges in the U.S. Attorney's press release.

This operation cut off a major pipeline of narcotics to the metropolitan area, and it’s a good example of the major impact we can have on narcotics trafficking and the crime that surrounds it when we join forces with our federal partners.

Kansas City Police partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the initiative. During the course of the 19 arrests on June 9, police recovered 52 guns, $144,000 in cash, three homemade explosive devices, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana. They seized five vehicles and served five search warrants. All the arrests were made without incident, and no one was injured.

One of those indicted is still on the run and has a federal warrant for her arrest. Please help us find her by calling the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477):

Andreya D. Jones, 28 years old, goes by "Pig"

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