Crime Correspondent: USA-MEX and Ameri-MEX

Eighteen people have been charged in the alleged Mexican drug importation ring that used modified commercial buses

Eighteen people have been charged in the alleged Mexican drug importation ring that used modified commercial buses to smuggle cocaine and marijuana to Houston, Dallas and other U.S. cities.A 16-count federal indictment unsealed Wednesday charges the defendants with drug trafficking and money laundering among other felonies that carry penalties up to life in prison.At least 10 defendants, including several from the Houston area, were arrested Wednesday. The list includes owners, managers, drivers and loaders. The indictment alleges that the owners and managers of Transtar, Neptune Tours, Los Primos, USA-MEX and Ameri-MEX charter services transported drugs in exchange for thousands of dollars in kickbacks from cartels. The managers used their share to pay drivers and loaders. The companies have offices and terminals in Houston, San Antonio, Roma, Rio Grande City and across the border in Monterrey, Mexico.Drug dealers paid $500 to get one kilo of cocaine from south of the border to Houston and as much as $7,000 to get the same load all the way to New York.White House Drug Czar John Walters, in Houston Wednesday for a news conference about the investigation, said this case shows officials are "taking meat off the bone" by reducing the flow of drugs into the United States and forcing smugglers to resort to sophisticated schemes to avoid detection."They are paying sums they never paid before because it's more dangerous to bring drugs into the United States because we are creating more risk at the border and inside the United States," Walters said."Our goal is to reinforce what's going well in these individual cases on a wider and wider scale and drive the information that these cases give us back to the top of these criminal organizations. ... "Walters also credited cooperation from the Mexican government.Officials said the operation sent millions to Mexico and linked it to Mexican and South American drug cartels, but declined to offer specifics. U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle said unsuspecting passengers who booked seats on the buses secretly packed with illegal drugs were in potential danger, but traveled unharmed.Authorities were alerted in 2001 about allegations that passenger bus services were fronts for drug smuggling. Officials opened an investigation in 2003. The probe was nicknamed Operation Road King II and continued through last month.During the undercover operation, officials seized 570 kilograms of cocaine, 3,000 pounds of marijuana and thousands in cash, DeGabrielle said.Cocaine and marijuana were found in clandestine nooks in luggage compartments, undercarriages and other places in at least seven vehicles, he said. Contraband is alleged to have been smuggled from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston, Dallas, Allentown, Pa., and Joliet, Ill.Prosecutors pursued criminal charges last year. A Houston grand jury handed down an indictment on March 31. The government also seeks forfeiture of eight Houston homes that were allegedly purchased with the proceeds of the enterprise.All 18 in Houston's indictment are charged in the conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana and face a minimum sentence of 10 years if convicted. Most are also included in the conspiracy to launder drug proceeds, which carries up to 20 years upon conviction. The other 14 counts of the indictment involve aiding and abetting the possession of drugs with intent to distribute, which carries a range of punishments from five years to life imprisonment plus millions of dollars in fines.