Raid targets Puerto Rico drug gang run by aspiring Robin Hood and Reggaeton stars' patron

Photo: A suspected drug dealer, second left, is arrested by DEA and FBI agents during a raid at a housing project in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. With assault rifles slung over their shoulders, agents swarmed the complex where the suspected kingpin Angel Ayala Vazquez, who was captured last month, grew up and allegedly launched a drug empire that shipped thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the U.S. mainland. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) Associated Press - October 2, 2009 - BAYAMON, Puerto Rico — Some 500 law officers swarmed into a public housing project Friday to dismantle a trafficking ring allegedly run by Puerto Rico's top drug suspect, a man described as an aspiring Robin Hood and a patron to reggaeton stars. With assault rifles slung over their shoulders, officers in riot gear raided the complex where reputed ringleader Angel Ayala Vazquez grew up and allegedly built a drug empire that shipped thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the U.S. mainland. Ayala, better known as "Angelo Millones," was captured last month following a seven-year investigation. "It was his domain," Pedro Janer, assistant special agent in charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Puerto Rico, said of the Jose Celso Barbosa project, a collection of concrete, three-story yellow buildings in the San Juan suburb of Bayamon. "He lived there his entire life. People liked him. They protected him." [Open link for full story and several photos.]