1996

OPERATION GLOBAL SEA

Operation Global Sea was the first time that federal authorities immobilized all levels of a major Nigeria-based trafficking distribution organization, from its primary U.S. distributor, to its major source in Bangkok, Thailand. The 18-month Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation was a cooperative effort by the DEA, the U.S. Customs Service, the FBI, and law enforcement authorities in Thailand, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

Launched in 1995, Global Sea ultimately resulted in the arrest of 24 defendants, including the director of the Chicago distribution cell and Musiliu Balogun, the Bangkok-based leader of the organization. These arrests took place in Bangkok, Chicago, New York City, Detroit, and Pakistan. Global Sea agents seized $200,000 and 2 kilograms of heroin with an average purity of 80 percent. In addition, as a direct result of Global Sea, approximately 72 kilograms of heroin were seized in France, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

By the time Global Sea officially ended in 1996, it had effectively dismantled a major Nigeria-based drug trafficking network that smuggled $26 million worth of high-purity Southeast Asian heroin from Bangkok to Chicago. Between 1993 and 1996, the group smuggled several hundred kilograms of heroin from Thailand via Europe, Guatemala, and Mexico. The organization was highly structured and well-organized, with a sophisticated intelligence and courier network.

Another unique aspect of this investigation was that it revealed the prominent role that women play in Nigeria-based trafficking organizations. Fifteen of the defendants were women, and women directed the distribution cell in Chicago and one of the three sources of supply in Bangkok.