HSI-led probe targets major Southern California drug trafficking network with gang ties
EL CENTRO, Calif. — More than 400 federal, state and local law enforcement officials fanned out across Imperial County Tuesday to execute search warrants and arrest warrants stemming from a yearlong probe spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the El Centro Police Department targeting a major drug trafficking ring with ties to several transnational street gangs.
The operation follows the indictment of 30 suspected members of the organization, including several documented gang members, who are accused of conspiring to import and distribute illicit drugs. Specifically, the two grand jury indictments unsealed in federal court in El Centro Tuesday charge the defendants with conspiracy to import and distribute methamphetamine and heroin; and possession of methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute. The ring allegedly smuggled the contraband into Imperial County from Mexicali through Calexico’s ports of entry using pedestrian couriers and cars.
During Tuesday’s predawn enforcement actions in Brawley, Calipatria and El Centro, authorities arrested 43 individuals and executed 38 search warrants. Those taken into custody include 22 individuals who are named in the federal indictments and 21 suspects who will be charged in state court. In addition to the arrests, the operation resulted in the seizure of narcotics, cash and 14 firearms.
“With these arrests and charges, we have taken the first step in wiping out a major connection to methamphetamine in the valley,” said San Diego’s U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “This type of investigation and prosecution has a significant impact on public safety and quality of life in this community.”
“Today federal, state and local law enforcement have joined forces to dismantle what’s believed to be the largest heroin and methamphetamine distribution ring ever uncovered in this area,” said Joe Garcia, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. “The impact of today’s operation on public safety will be far-reaching and should serve as a bold warning to criminals and gang members involved in drug and weapons smuggling that they are not welcome in the Imperial Valley.”
Many of the defendants indicted in the case are documented members or associates of local street gangs in El Centro, Brawley and Calipatria. Investigators say the gang members and gang associates acted as distributors for the drug ring. According to the indictments, many of the other conspirators were family members – parents, siblings, cousins, married couples - who formed the Lozano-Gonzalez drug trafficking organization.
U.S. Attorney Duffy praised the law enforcement agencies participating in this case, which relied extensively on federal wiretaps and surveillance conducted by HSI and the El Centro Police Department. Other agencies involved in the investigation included U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Bureau of Land Management; the California Highway Patrol; the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office; the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office; the Imperial County Narcotics Task Force; and the Brawley, Calipatria and Calexico police departments.
The investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. The OCDETF program was created to consolidate and utilize all law enforcement resources in this country’s battle against major drug trafficking.
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