Which Is The Butcher Shop That The CJNG Used To Launder Millions Of Dollars?

Mica for cartelinsider.com

As a criminal group that operates in a large part of the national territory and in various countries, the group led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, has been linked to a wide variety of businesses. Among the companies that have been linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), there is record of a Japanese food restaurant.

But on another occasion, a small business that worked in favor of the also called four-letter cartel was revealed and would have laundered millions of dollars. Meat, fruits, tortillas, and other products were sold at the site.

To understand the business that was linked to the CJNG, it is necessary to go back to February 2021, when the United States Department of Justice announced the conviction against a woman who was sentenced to eight years in prison.

This woman was the owner and manager of a business that sold various supplies. It was called Bella’s Tortilla & Meat Market. For at least two years, the woman was in charge of a business that laundered drug profits.

According to the investigation, this person knew that the money came from illegal activities and even used false names and addresses in the transfers they made.

Her role consisted of “receiving US currency from multiple individuals who were working for the CJNG, which she knew were profits from drug trafficking and derived from a criminal offense. She then transferred that money to individuals in Mexico. She made electronic transfers in small amounts and falsified and invented the names and addresses of the senders to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the funds”.

At the end of February 2019, the business shared its latest publication, the social media profile of the site is described as a butcher shop, while in various posts it showed the different products including various types of meat, bread, and tortillas.

In the same way, piñatas appear near the area where the sweets were located. In another section, traditional dresses and hats with the legend “Mexico” stand out.

“In total, between May 10, 2016 and September 11, 2018, Sánchez Ríos transferred or caused the transfer of $4,394,959 in drug trafficking profits,” reads the statement from the Department of Justice announcing the woman’s conviction.

In January 2016, a year with records of money laundering activities, the price of the dollar was around 18 Mexican pesos.

It was in 2019 when the woman in charge of the butcher shop was accused of drug trafficking and money laundering, along with her, 12 individuals identified as members of CJNG were also accused. One year later, in June 2020, Ana Bella Sanchez Rios admitted her guilt in the crimes of money laundering and operating a business involved in the transmission of funds derived from crimes.

The criminal group led by El Mencho has used businesses from various branches, for example the Department of Treasury identified architectural firms that were sanctioned for their alleged relationship with the criminal structure.

Thanks for reading!

Mica

Email: mica@cartelinsider.com

Follow: https://twitter.com/cartelinsider1