Busted LA Drug Ring Was Financing Hezbollah

In yet another example of how Hezbollah has its tentacles into America, a drug ring In Los Angeles peddling both marijuana and cocaine and counterfeit designer clothes was actually targeted by the FBI because they were funneling money to Hezbollah.

In one reported instance, the gang sent $123,000 in money orders inside a stuffed animal that was flown to Lebanon,

The predominantly Arab gang was operating out of a small,predominantly Hispanic LA suburb known as Cudahy ( not Bell, as the linked story states).Over a dozen people were arrested, predominantly Arabs, but with a sprinkling of Hispanics. This particular investigation, dubbed `Operation Bell Bottom' by the feds, was two years in the making.

Because information linking the gang to Hezbollah came from classified intelligence, the gang merely face criminal charges instead of charges of aiding a designated terrorist group.The actual affidavits signed by the agents mention the terrorist connections, however.

Hezbollah,of course has been involved in the narcotics traffic for years. Their headquarters, in Lebanon' Bek'aa Valley is a major center for the production of hashish, marijuana and heroin. it's one of the major ways they finance themselves.

Here's another bit of food for thought. Both Cudahy and it's neighboring suburb, Bell are dysfunctional, largely Hispanic cites, and all illicit activity in the streets is under the control of the Mexican Mafia and the 18th Street gang. No criminal activity is done without their blessing and `kickbacks' being paid to them.

To me, that suggests what is possibly a very dangerous connection between Mexican drug cartels and Islamist terrorism.