Zetas' 'Sport of Kings' leads to major arrests, seizures

SAN ANTONIO – They are considered the most ruthless of the Mexican Drug Cartels.

So four years ago, when the FBI received a tip that the Zetas were getting into American Quarter Horse racing, FBI Special Agent Scott Lawson wasn't sure what to think.

He eventually found cartel drug money was indeed going to the ponies -- a departure for a group that is known for violence, instead of thoroughbreds.

"That's what makes the Zetas different," he said. "Their calling card started with violence, and the drug trafficking came later."

YouTube video shows some of the biggest races Zeta-owned horses took part in, including races at Lone Star Park near Dallas.

"When these races happened in the United States, the Zetas in Mexico would meet at a ranch and watch it online," Lawson said. "It would be a big celebration."

The idea was to take cartel drug money and wash it clean on the dirt tracks of the United States.

The horse named Tempting Dash, the winner of four races race at Lone Star Park, was bought, trained and raced with Zeta money.

Part of the proof for Lawson was in the winner's circle. The owner was the Zeta Cartel leaders' brother, Jose Trevino. In the winner's circle, his daughter and son are pictured holding the Zeta call signs for the cartel's leaders, Miguel and Omar Trevino.

"That's when we knew we were on the right track," Lawson said. "In the beginning, they really tried to hide under the radar, but it seemed as time went on, they believed their own scheme almost -- and they got more brazen and bold."

Lawson, other FBI agents and the IRS agents would spend years tracking hundreds of horses, trainers, and the Trevino brothers.

The leader of Los Zetas is Miguel Trevino. His brother Jose lived near Dallas, was a bricklayer by trade and had no prior criminal record. But almost overnight in 2010, he became a player in Quarter Horse racing.

Lawson unraveled the scheme; the IRS followed the money.

"By the time 2010 (and) 2011 rolled around, they were going to all the major auctions in the industry, and basically out buying legitimate historical buyers of all the best horses at auction," Lawson said.

YouTube video shows Jose Trevino at a Quarter Horse awards ceremony. He bought a ranch and had his family move there, along with 522 horses for racing and breeding.

"Jose actually told some cooperators in the case that he was living the American Dream," Lawson said.

Part of the elaborate scheme played out at Retama Park in Schertz, just outside of San Antonio. The FBI found cartel-owned horses ran at Retama, along with other tracks in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and California.

The Zetas would send cocaine into the U.S., making hundreds of millions of dollars. Part of that would be given to Mexico businessmen who would set up straw companies, and then wire money directly to horse auction houses or people in the U.S -- funneling money from drug kingpins to the "Sport of Kings."

Thanks to the FBI and the IRS, they would lose it all: "Approximately $26 million through the horses, then you had planes and additional bank accounts, so you're talking about $45-$60 million dollars in assets and money," said IRS Special Criminal Investigations Agent Steve Pennington.

The FBI and IRS would seize it all, even horse embryos and semen. The cartel's American Dream of a legitimate business turned out to be a longshot. The horses would be auctioned off, along with the land and the two jets -- the Zetas' gamble, and all they gained, gone like a losing ticket.

Ten people were convicted on charges of money laundering. Jose and Miguel Trevino received maximum mandatory sentences. The FBI is still looking for seven fugitives still in Mexico.

"The United States is not the place to be the safe-haven, to come and flee and feel safe from the violence that they created, " says Lawson.