Called Operation Wire Cutter, the two-and-a-half-year investigation resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals - 29 in the United States and 8 in Colombia. U.S. Customs agents also seized more than $8 million, as well as 400 kilograms of cocaine, 100 kilograms of marijuana, 6.5 kilograms of heroin, nine firearms, and six vehicles during the investigation.

The primary targets of Operation Wire Cutter were eight senior "money brokers," also known as black market peso brokers, located in Bogota. Arrested by Colombian authorities at the end of the case, these individuals were believed to have a combined 50-years experience laundering drug money. Each of the brokers headed distinct organizations that provided money laundering services to several Colombian drug cartels on a contract basis.

The brokers stand accused of using a money laundering system known as the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). Decades old, the BMPE is a trade-based money laundering scheme that handles billions of dollars worth of drug profits annually. It is the primary method by which Colombian cartels convert U.S.-based drug dollars into "clean" pesos that they can spend in Colombia.

In September 1999, Customs agents assigned to the multi-agency "El Dorado" Task Force in New York launched the operation after developing information about two suspected money brokers in Colombia. Undercover Customs agents soon entered into "contracts" with these brokers. On the brokers' instructions, undercover agents began picking up drug cash in various U.S. cities and wiring the funds to bank accounts specified by the brokers.

In September 2000, the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Special Operations Division began assisting the probe and identified one of the brokers as a primary target of the DEA's Country Office in Colombia. Customs and DEA agreed to merge their investigations. Both agencies also agreed to work closely with a unit of Colombia's Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS), which launched a parallel investigation into the money brokers in Colombia.

Over the next few months, undercover Customs agents picked up drug money from operatives of the brokers in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and San Juan. At the same time, Customs agents on site in Colombia worked with officers of the Colombian DAS and the DEA to monitor the brokers and their associates.

This marked the first time that U.S. authorities were able to combine undercover pick-ups of drug proceeds in this country with investigative efforts by Colombian authorities to target money brokers. By combining these techniques, authorities in both nations were able to monitor the BMPE process "full circle" - watching specific drug profits enter the system in the United States and exit the system in Colombia.

Operation Wire Cutter was unprecedented in that it combined the best investigative techniques of U.S. and Colombian law enforcement to bring down major players in the world of drug money laundering. -- Commissioner Robert C. Bonner

We struck a blow

The investigation was proceeding ahead until two commercial jets slammed into the World Trade Center (WTC) towers on September 11. The terrorist attacks completely destroyed the offices of the Customs Special-Agent-in-Charge (SAIC) New York and the El Dorado Task Force, both of which were housed in 6 WTC. Much of the evidence relating to Operation Wire Cutter and other Customs investigations was feared lost.

Thanks to the New York City Fire Department, Customs agents were ultimately able to salvage key aspects of the case. In October 2001, New York firefighters used a crane and a bucket to lift SAIC Joe Webber and other agents into the charred remains of 6 WTC, where the agents were able to retrieve evidence relating to the investigation.

"I am especially proud of the U.S. Customs agents in New York City who continued to pursue this ground-breaking case despite the wholesale destruction of their offices in the September 11 terrorist attacks," said Commissioner Bonner.

Over the next few months, Customs agents in New York resumed the investigation and ultimately managed to bring it to a successful conclusion. In the final takedown, Customs agents arrested 12 individuals in Miami, San Juan, and New York, including one who tossed a bag containing $400,000 in cash out his apartment window before his arrest. At the same time, officers of the Colombian DAS arrested eight senior money brokers in Bogota without incident.

"By removing these professional money-men from the equation," said Commissioner Bonner at a Jan. 16 press conference announcing the case. "We struck a blow against the drug trafficking organizations that depend on them to launder their dirty profits."