Feds seize millions in drug money

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- An operation targeting Colombian drug money launderers netted more than $4 million in cash from U.S. bank accounts, the Justice Department said.

Warrants were issued during the last two weeks as part of the ongoing Operation Black Market Peso Sweep for about 375 bank accounts, and authorized the seizure of about $3.2 million in alleged narcotics proceeds, the department said Thursday in a release. Previous seizure warrants, part of the same operation, resulted in the seizure of an additional 35 bank accounts and another $1.3 million in cash.

The Black Market Peso Exchange is the main way Colombian narcotics traffickers launder funds, the department said, explaining it is an illegal currency exchange system that uses narcotic distribution proceeds in the United States to pay for goods that are shipped to Colombia.

The operation's seizures are aimed at disrupting and destroying the flow of narcotics dollars by targeting the U.S. accounts and the entities receiving the illicit funds, the department said.

"Money launderers, and those who facilitate them, provide the lifeblood of drug traffickers," said Benton Campbell, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "Disrupting their operations is an essential part of ridding our neighborhoods and streets from the scourge of drug trafficking."