Multiagency effort involving HSI Waco captures 4 alleged fentanyl traffickers in Texas

WACO, Texas — Four individuals were arrested in Bell County on Sept. 14 for their alleged roles in fentanyl trafficking. The investigation is being conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Waco, the Department of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Killeen Police Department, the Copperas Cove Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

According to court documents, special agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigations Division identified Anthony Perez-Diaz aka Krosty, 37; Anthony Perez-Perez aka Mundo, 43; Jose Ublies-Rivera aka Wichy, 49; and Emanuel Giovanni Hernandez-Miranda aka Goldo, 30, as narcotics distributors in January.

The four defendants are charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl. They made their initial court appearances Sept. 15 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Manske of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Chris Blanton is prosecuting the case.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.