Nine SoCal residents charged in drug trafficking scheme across U.S., Mexico, and Canada
Nine Southern California residents -- including three from Riverside County -- have been charged in federal indictments targeting an alleged drug pipeline in which suspected members of an organized crime ring imported hundreds of pounds of cocaine and other narcotics from Mexico through Los Angeles for export to Canada or distribution throughout the United States, officials announced today.
Two federal grand jury indictments unsealed Tuesday in Los Angeles collectively charge 19 defendants for alleged roles in the organization, including suspected importers, distributors, truck drivers and large-scale buyers.
"Today is an example of society pushing back,'' said Donald Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.
Authorities said the ring used Canadian handlers and dispatchers who traveled from Canada to Los Angeles to coordinate the pickup and delivery of large shipments of cocaine and methamphetamine. The drugs were loaded onto long-haul semi-trucks and driven from the United States to Canada via the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, the Buffalo Peace Bridge, and the Blue Water Bridge, investigators said.
The indictments allege the operation involved about 1,860 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,092 pounds of cocaine, 44 pounds of fentanyl and nearly nine pounds of heroin with an estimated total wholesale value of between $16 million and $28 million. In addition, almost $1 million in cash was seized during the investigation, officials said.
Among those arrested was Robert Scoppa, an alleged Canadian drug trafficker with "close ties to an Italian organized crime family in Montreal,'' according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The years-long investigation was announced at a news conference in Westwood by officials from the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other agencies.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said that the scheme's cross-border reach shows that "organized crime knows no boundaries."
Among the defendants charged in the indictments are:
-- Carlos Barragan, 51, of Long Beach;
-- Corell Carbajal Garcia, 38, of Hemet;
-- Esteban Sinhue Mercado, 24, of San Jacinto;
-- Daniel Antonio Trejo Huerta, 43, of Riverside;
-- Ignacio Lopez, 53, Santa Ana;
-- Orlando Velasco Jr., 29, of Stanton;
-- Angel Larry Sandoval, 32, of Bell Gardens;
-- Jorge Pina Nicols, 22, of Long Beach; and
-- Bryan Ureta Valenzuela, 24, of Ontario.
The defendants face federal charges including drug trafficking and drug exportation conspiracies. If convicted, each would face possible penalties ranging from 40 years to life in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
