Yadkinville police officer's hunch about the comings and goings from the parking lot of the Days Inn motel last year led to one of the largest drug busts in the town's history.And one of the larger drug money seizures in the state last year, authorities said.
Not only did the arrest take a major drug trafficker off the street, but it helped to dismantle a drug smuggling operation based in Mexico with ties to North Carolina.
The arrest of Alejandro Alvarron Alvarado on Dec. 12, 2007, netted more than $2 million worth of cocaine and methamphetamine and $401,880 in cash, said Delbert Richburg, an assistant special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Richburg presented a commemorative check for $400,000 today to officers in Yadkin, Iredell, Forsyth counties as well as the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation. The presentation at 11 a.m. was at the Yadkinville Police Department. The agencies will share the drug money based on their level of participation in the investigation.
"Many times the public is not made aware of significant achievements made by law enforcement agencies," Richburg said. He added that many of the details of the case were kept low key during the investigation.
The Yadkinville police officer was watching the motel parking lot the night before the arrest. First, a woman got out of a Jeep Liberty and into a Dodge Durango. Then, a group of men outside the hotel got into the Jeep and left, according to a search warrant. When they returned, they switched vehicles again and drove away.
The officer found that suspicious and called for backup from Yadkin County's drug-interdiction team.
And with that call local officers also got help with surveillance from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency's El Paso Intelligence Center.
The Durango made stops in Hamptonville, North Wilkesboro, Hayes and Winston-Salem before returning to a house at 4428 Wiles Road in Hamptonville, where Alvarado lived.
Within hours, the team raided the house and seized 8 kilograms of cocaine as well as methamphetamine.
Alvarado, 36, was charged with trafficking cocaine, trafficking methamphetamine, and maintaining a vehicle for drug purposes. As part of a plea bargain with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty Aug. 27 in Yadkin Superior Court to attempted trafficking in cocaine and was sentenced to 61 to 83 months in prison. Alvarado is an illegal immigrant and will be deported to Mexico after the sentence.
Large-scale drug organizations depend on nation's highways to reach varied communities, authorities say. Alvarado worked for a drug organization that focused in the Yadkinville area but had transportation routes up and down the East Coast.
Alvarado had been in the Yadkinville area for some time, Richburg said. He would take cash back to Mexico, and on his return, would bring drugs into Yadkin.
The Durango and the Jeep were equipped with non-factory installed hidden compartments to hide money and drugs.
Yadkin Sheriff Mike Cain said sometimes drug dealers do big deals in rural counties because there is less law enforcement. But Yadkin was able to get a hold of Alvarado because they were working with other agencies, he said.
Yadkinville and Yadkin County are expected to receive about $80,000 each of the drug money that was seized.
ICE will receive $100,000, the SBI $100,000, Iredell $20,000 and Forsyth $20,000.
The money will be used to purchase equipment and help with future investigations.
"It's about saving the taxpayer money by getting things to help fight crime that they don't have to pay for," Parks said.