Police arrest another from apparent drug cartel

Now 16 of 17 in meth ring have been captured

Police found $2,000 in her purse when she was arrested, but her attorney says she’s broke, has four kids and no job.

Drug suspect KoJoua Vu will now need $5,000 to get out of the La Crosse County jail after her first court appearance on Monday.

Vu had been a fugitive for almost a year after skipping court on a previous drug charge. The 26-year-old is one of 17 suspects in a large meth ring that was bringing drugs in from Minneapolis. She was one of two suspects still at large of those 17.

Prosecutor Justine Suleski says that drug cartel is dangerous and Vu is part of it.

“Calculating the total amount of Meth this organization is responsible for bringing to La Crosse,” Suleski said. “We’re in the 100s if not 1000s of pounds of methamphetamine. This organization reportedly makes over $10,000-per-pound profit.”

La Crosse police recognized Vu and stopped her car on a warrant Saturday. The new charges of delivering meth could lead to 40 years in prison, if she’s convicted.

Along with the $2,000 cash, she also had duffle bag full of items, including 100 unused gem baggies, over $400 wadded up and folders with different names on each containing court documents of search warrant reports, rights forms, testimony from search warrants, investigation reports, control buys and other documents.

Also in her car were electronic devices, including four cell phones and a police scanner, that were apparently linked to the meth operation.