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STATEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO

"I am pleased to be here today with Acting Administrator Marshall, Commissioner Kelly and Principal Deputy Assistant Director Knowlton to announce the successful conclusion of Operation Impunity.

"This operation has resulted in the arrest of 93 individuals believed to be connected to the foreign and U.S. transportation and distribution network of the Amado Carrillo-Fuentes Mexican drug trafficking cartel. We expect additional arrests in the next few days.

"By targeting the cartel's importation, transportation and distribution network, we have substantially hindered their ability to move cocaine and other drugs into, and around, this country.

"The impact of the operation is significant. Since this nationwide effort began, Operation Impunity has resulted in the seizure of considerable amounts of cocaine, marijuana and heroin that were bound for highways, main streets and neighborhoods across the United States. And law enforcement has confiscated more than $19 million in U.S. currency that otherwise would have gone back into this drug organization.

"What this means for us all is simple. It means we have taken another step forward in making our streets safer. It means that fewer children may be raised in drug affected households. And it means that more children will be provided with the opportunity for a better future.

"This effort was a coordinated effort, utilizing the best talents and resources of many agencies including DEA, Customs, the FBI, INS, the Border Patrol, the U.S. Marshal Service, the IRS, federal prosecutors, and countless local and state law enforcement personnel. We also received invaluable assistance, for which we are grateful, from the governments of Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

"This is a wonderful example of the success we can achieve when we work together at every level of government toward a common goal. I would personally like to thank everyone in all agencies here, and elsewhere, who made this possible. It is a shining example in law enforcement."

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