(The Center Square) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Houston agents have arrested suspected gang members allegedly involved in a drug trafficking scheme using a taco truck and the postal service to transport and sell illicit drugs in the Houston area.
They also seized large quantities of drugs destined for the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico at ports in Long Beach, Calif., and Houston.
A 29-count indictment was unsealed charging 15, including three women, on drug trafficking and weapons charges. Three charged, Mexican and Guatemalan nationals, remain at large and are considered dangerous.
The indictment alleges that those involved in the scheme are members of a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, Xanax, psylocibin mushrooms and marijuana. They allegedly used several homes and a food truck to store illegal drugs and conduct drug transactions.
“As alleged, this drug trafficking organization imported methamphetamine directly from Mexico and used the U.S. mail, a taco truck, and homes in different Houston neighborhoods to distribute and sell methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs,” Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said. “Several of the defendants are also alleged to have used firearms in furtherance of their narcotics trafficking and illegally possessed firearms despite having previously been convicted of felonies.”
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Nicholas Ganjei said that some of the charges indicate that “methamphetamine was alleged to have been sourced from Mexico” and the goal of the operation was to “prevent narcotics from entering our country” and to “be relentless in apprehending those that would distribute drugs in our communities.”
“For years, the transnational criminal organization allegedly operated by these gang members has brazenly flooded our local communities with deadly narcotics,” ICE-HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said. The operation helped “expose and dismantle their drug trafficking scheme, eliminating a significant contributor to violent crime in the area.”
Five Houston men were indicted on drug trafficking and firearm charges. If convicted, they each face a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Nine people, including a Mexican national, were indicted on drug trafficking charges and each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
Another Mexican national, referred to as “Taco Man,” was charged with drug trafficking. If convicted, he faces between five and 40 years in prison.
The indictments and arrests were the result of a multi-agency investigation led by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations-Houston, working with the Houston Police Department, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Texas Board of Criminal Justice – Office of the Inspector General.
In another operation, ICE and Border Patrol agents seized 50,000 kilograms, more than 110,000 pounds, of di-cumyl peroxide, a chemical precursor used to make methamphetamines and other illicit narcotics, at the Port of Long Beach, California. The shipment originated in China and was headed to Mexico to be used by the Sinaloa Cartel, authorities found.
The seizure in California occurred after authorities seized nearly 44,000 kilograms of glacial acetic acid at the Port of Houston, which was also destined for the Sinaloa Cartel, ICE said on Monday.
Under the first Trump administration, ICE launched an initiative in 2019 to target illicit cross-border trade and identify suspicious shipments of chemical precursors from China, India and other source countries destined for Mexico.
“For far too long, the Mexican drug cartels have raked in billions of dollars at the expense of our local communities leaving nothing but addiction, death and despair in their wake,” Plantz said. “This initiative provides HSI with a game-changing method to stay one step ahead of the cartels by disrupting the flow of chemicals that they depend on to produce illicit narcotics.”
Since the initiative first launched, federal authorities have interdicted more than 1.7 million kilograms of chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamines and fentanyl, ICE said.
Since January, U.S. and Mexican authorities have also found and eliminated 13 clandestine drug labs operated by the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, ICE said.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
