Sting Breaks Up Drug Pipelines

(AP) Drug enforcement agents have arrested some 160 people in four U.S. cities and two foreign countries and have broken up three major drug transportation rings with international ties in a 10-month drug-trafficking sting revealed Friday.

The three Mexican and Colombian drug transportation organizations and their U.S. counterparts smuggled and distributed 4,000 pounds of cocaine, 20 to 30 pounds of heroin and more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine monthly throughout this country, the DEA said.

The agency calculates that 545 grams of methamphetamine produced one pound of product and a single gram is enough for one hit. The DEA said those figures are on the high end of methamphetamine use.

Along with the arrests, officers seized 52 firearms, including a .50-caliber assault rifle with armor piercing ammunition, confiscated 10,000 doses of Ecstasy, 58 vehicles, 216 pounds of marijuana and $5.5 million in cash.