Nine Southern California residents were among 19 charged Jan. 30 by federal authorities targeting a drug ring that transported narcotics from Mexico into the U.S. and Canada.
The defendants included importers, distributors, truck drivers, and large-scale buyers.
The ring allegedly involved Canadian handlers who came to Los Angeles to arrange the pickup and delivery of cocaine and methamphetamine using semi trucks.
Authorities seized about 1,860 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,092 pounds of cocaine, 44 pounds of fentanyl, and nearly nine pounds of heroin, authorities said. Almost $1 million in cash was also seized.
The nine Californians charged were: 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.
All face drug trafficking charges and could incur penalties ranging from 40 years to life in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that one of the alleged ring members arrested was Robert Scoppa, a Canadian with “close ties to an Italian organized crime family in Montreal.”
A number of agencies worked in the investigation of the case, including the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Los Angeles Police Department.
“Organized crime knows no boundaries,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore during a press conference Tuesday announcing the years-long investigation.
