DPS IIMPACT searching for three members of Moreno drug smuggling organization

Osvaldo Moreno Herrera

Julio Cesar Alavarado Yanez

Christian Palacios

Three members of the Moreno drug smuggling group being sought by IIMPACT

Wednesday, December 07, 2011 -

IIMPACT (Illegal Immigration Prevention Apprehension Co-op Team) detectives are searching for three leaders of the notorious Moreno drug-smuggling organization. These members are all part of a smuggling group that has been transporting hundreds of pounds of marijuana a week into the Phoenix area. The group uses armed guards who travel alongside the smugglers from Mexico to southern Arizona deserts where the marijuana gets picked up.

Last week a Maricopa County Grand Jury indicted six members of the Moreno drug smuggling group including its ringleader, Ines Moreno. Moreno has been deported at least a dozen times while using a Mexican identification which has allowed him to re-enter the U.S.

All were indicted on the following charges:

• Sale or Transportation of Marijuana
• Possession of Marijuana for Sale
• Illegal Control of an Enterprise
• Misconduct with weapons

IIMPACT is specifically looking for Christian Palacios, an American citizen who resides in the Valley along with Mexican national Julio Cesar Alavarado Yanez and Osvaldo Moreno Herrera. All three suspects are believed to be hiding either in Mexico or Arizona.

Individual members of this organization earn up to $80,000 a week for smuggling marijuana into the Phoenix area.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these three suspects should call local police.