Marijuana ringleader extradited from Mexico eight years after $11M Long Island seizure
Bruno Garcia-Arreola, accused of leading a Mexican marijuana ring that moved tons of cannabis into the United States, was extradited from Mexico in 2011 after eight years as a fugitive. The case rested on a 2003 takedown in which 4,000 pounds of marijuana and 11 million dollars in cash were seized on Long Island; he was due to be arraigned in Central Islip on 10 November 2011.
🇺🇸 Central Islip, Long Island, New York · New York, United States
Bruno Garcia-Arreola, a Mexican national accused of leading an organisation that sent tons of
marijuana from Mexico to the United States, was extradited from Mexico to face a federal
indictment in New York in November 2011.[1]He had been a fugitive for eight years after
fleeing a 2003 Long Island marijuana and money-laundering case, and was due to be arraigned
before a federal judge in Central Islip on 10 November 2011.[2][1]
The 2003 takedown
In May 2003 a federal grand jury in Central Islip indicted Barry Hazan and Warren Hazan, and on
2 June 2003 the authorities unsealed an indictment against Bruno Arreola, charging all three
with running a wholesale marijuana distribution and money-laundering ring.[2]Investigators
seized4,000 pounds (about 1.8 tonnes) of marijuana and 11 million dollars in drug proceeds from
locations on Long Island.[2][1]Each defendant was charged with conspiring to traffic more than
1,000 kilograms of marijuana and with money laundering.[2]
The Hazans were arraigned in May 2003 and pleaded not guilty; Barry Hazan was released on a 1
million dollar bond while Warren Hazan stayed in custody.[2]Arreola was arrested on a warrant
in Las Vegas, where agents had lured him by private plane from Mexico, but was released on a
20,000 dollar unsecured bond over prosecutors’ objections and failed to appear in court.[2][1]He was then also charged with bail jumping and was finally apprehended in Mexico in April 2011
by United States Marshals with Interpol and Mexican officers.[2][1]If convicted of the drug
conspiracy charge he faced at least ten years in prison and up to life.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
A man was arrested at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint in Texas after a K-9 alert led to the discovery of marijuana and three firearms, one reported stolen. The driver, held on an active warrant, was turned over to local authorities for extradition.
Passenger Jamaal Parker was arrested on November 10, 2026, after a wrong-way vehicle pursuit ended in a crash in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Sheriff's deputies reported finding 4 pounds (1.81 kilograms) of concentrated marijuana (THC) valued at over $13,000 and two loaded handguns in his backpack.
Patrick Wayne Gaylor, 40, was arrested on Maple Avenue near East 6th Street in Rome, Georgia, after police stopped his vehicle over an improperly restrained five-year-old child and found marijuana. He was charged with marijuana possession, a child safety restraint violation, and a parole violation.
Officers found about 16 suspected marijuana plants in two indoor grow tents at a Roosevelt home while serving court paperwork on 78-year-old Danny Lee Cooper, who had pleaded guilty to marijuana production in 2024. He was arrested and charged with second-degree felony production of marijuana with a prior and misdemeanor use of drug paraphernalia.
