VIOLENCE OF PUERTO RICAN DRUG RING MADE BUSTS A PRIORITY

WASHINGTON -- U.S. authorities arrested Thursday 40 alleged members of
a Puerto Rican drug ring accused of distributing nearly $1 billion of
cocaine and heroin a year and killing dozens of people, including some
who were shot 100 times.

''What separates this organization from others is just the raw
violence they generated,'' said Michael Vigil, special agent in charge
of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Caribbean field
division. He said the drug ring's penchant for violence made it a
priority for authorities.

''There were murders that occurred right in the streets, people with
100 bullet wounds.''

The organization, known as La Cabra, had 20 distribution centers in
Puerto Rico, each generating $20,000 to $50,000 a day in sales, Vigil
said.

The estimated $300 million generated in Puerto Rico each year was only
about 40% of what the group took in, he said. The rest of the group's
income came from the USA, where it distributed hundreds of pounds of
heroin and cocaine in Boston, Chicago, Miami and New York.

Authorities began the probe in October, after linking dozens of
homicides to the organization. Among them:

* In February, three people, including an assassin from a rival drug
gang, were killed when gunmen believed to be associated with La Cabra
were shot and killed.

* In December, one victim who had stolen drugs from La Cabra was shot
in the face repeatedly until he was unrecognizable. Also that month, a
smuggler who withheld money from a shipment from La Cabra was shot 30
times in front of other members of the ring, authorities say.

Thursday's arrests, which include Miguel O'Connor-Colon, the man DEA
agents say ran the ring, reflect the DEA's focus this year on
Caribbean drug operations.

In March, agents arrested more than 2,200 people and seized a
half-billion dollars in drugs and drug-making chemicals in a 17-day,
26-country series of raids in the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Vigil said the Puerto Rican drug gang ''intimidated the citizens of
Puerto Rico.''

''It's the most violent organization we've seen in the commonwealth in
the last 10 years.''