Two major drug trafficking organizations, including one with connections to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel, have been dismantled following the indictment of twenty-five individuals by a federal grand jury.
U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced charges against members of a large-scale fentanyl and cocaine trafficking operation based out of an autobody shop in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
The organization allegedly imported significant quantities of drugs from Puerto Rico via the U.S. Postal Service and from a source connected to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Read: Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Arrested In Texas
Saul Alexi Padilla-Garcia, 34, of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and seventeen others were charged after an investigation involving federal law enforcement agents in Chicago and Northern California.
“This case underscores the scope of the threat posed by Mexican drug cartels to the people of West Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. “These transnational organizations will operate anywhere that there is profit to be made, including here in our region. Fortunately, we have one of the best drug task forces in the country to push back against dangerous groups like this one.”
Among those charged are:
- Juan Carlos Suarez-Lugo, 55, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Victor Jose Canales, 45, hometown unknown
- Alexis Alvarado, 37, Ranson, West Virginia
- Mauricio Antonio Alvarado-Flores, 37, hometown unknown
- Olvin Luis-Melendez Robles, age unknown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Mario Pellot-Acevedo, 58, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Eddi Heredia Cruz, 27, Shepherdstown, West Virginia
- Jose Alberto Camarena Rocha, 30, California
- Manuel Sanchez Gomez, 37, California
- Angel Lopez, 43, Fresno, California
- Sergio Rubio Pacheco, 33, Fresno, California
- Moises Marrero, 39, Ranson, West Virginia
- James Reyes, 54, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- David Reyes, 60, hometown unknown
- Charles Edward Branson, 53, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Danny William Mendez Delacruz, 41, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Yan Lionel Diaz-Cruz, 27, Ranson, West Virginia
The arrests follow an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that began in 2023. The OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States.
Law enforcement arrested 16 individuals today and are still searching for Gomez and Melendez-Robles.
In a separate case, seven people face charges after investigators seized nearly 40,000 fentanyl pills and 12 firearms earlier this year in Berkeley County. The individuals allegedly operated a stash house on Shepherdstown Road in Martinsburg. Those indicted include:
- Delano Alan Butler, 43, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Faith Elizabeth Small, 22, Hagerstown, Maryland
- Jwan Martine Smith, 38, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Geraldine Lagata Hill, 43, Stephens, Virginia
- Cody Aaron Ashby, 32, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Crystal Lyn Lewis, 34, Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Matthew James Elsea, 42, Martinsburg, West Virginia
Six of these defendants were taken into custody, while officers are still searching for Smith.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force was the lead investigative unit in each of these cases.
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