Federal agents arrested 36 people, including a U.S. Border Patrol agent, allegedly linked to a California-based drug, firearms and money laundering network linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Agents raided locations throughout Wednesday, serving search warrants in the Imperial Valley, San Diego, Fresno and Los Angeles, along with Phoenix, Arizona, and Salem, Oregon, the Justice Department announced in a news release. . In total, 47 people have been charged in connection with the alleged criminal network.
Among those arrested was US Border Patrol agent Alexander Grindley, accused of methamphetamine trafficking. Grindley is also linked to multiple investigations stemming from the case and in other jurisdictions, according to authorities.
Eleven people named in the federal charges remain at large. More than 400 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the raids.
Since the Organized Crime Drug Task Force investigation began, federal agents have seized more than 700 pounds of methamphetamine, 52 weapons and 4 kilograms of fentanyl. During their investigation, federal agents also seized an undisclosed amount of cocaine and heroin.
The suspects named in the 14 indictments unsealed Wednesday are accused of drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons offenses, the Justice Department said. According to authorities, their operations were carried out in Brawley, El Centro, Westmoreland, Imperial, Calexico, Niland, Holtville and Calipatria in California's Imperial Valley. The suspects also operated from Mexicali, Mexico.
The suspects belonged to multiple trafficking operations that were part of a network that supplied drugs to Imperial County and elsewhere, federal prosecutors alleged.
Federal agents have been working on the case for the past few years.
On June 30, 2021, agents seized two pounds of methamphetamine and a large quantity of ghost guns and ammunition, according to court records.
Items seized by federal agents included several rifle parts, including receivers, barrels and stocks. Agents also found 18 rifle magazines, 9mm bullets and approximately 400 Red Army .223 rounds, which are manufactured in Russia, prosecutors said. None of the parts or firearms had serial numbers.
Federal agents learned through wiretapped phone conversations that Cory Gershen allegedly provided other members of the trafficking operation with ghost guns in exchange for methamphetamine, the Justice Department alleged. The arsenal of assault rifles intercepted by federal agents was destined for Mexico, according to prosecutors.
Federal agents also seized two assault rifle-style ghost guns, a Colt .380 semi-automatic pistol and more Russian rifle ammunition when they arrested Guadalupe Molina-Flores on June 30, 2021, another alleged member of the trafficking operation, police said. authorities. Agents also allege they found 309 grams of methamphetamine in his home.
“With this dismantling, the Department of Justice has dealt another blow to the Sinaloa Cartel and its associates,” the prosecutor said. Gen. Merrick Garland said in a statement. “We will continue to be relentless in our fight to protect American communities from cartels.”
The arrests come as fentanyl has devastated communities across the country. California recorded 7,385 opioid-related deaths in 2022 and 24 in Imperial County, according to the state Department of Public Health.
With the flood of fentanyl in California, federal agents learned that the price per pill on the black market has fallen dramatically, according to the Department of Justice. In June 2021, a pill sold in the Imperial Valley cost about $1.65 or $1.75, but later that year it dropped to $1.25. In May of this year, those same pills were selling for just 45 cents.
“This investigation dismantled a drug trafficking network responsible for supplying traffickers in communities throughout the region,” Tara McGrath, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement. “But there is still a lot of work to do. If you are a parent and the current price of fentanyl terrifies you, talk to your children about the dangers of drug use. If you are an addict and your dealer was arrested today, seek treatment. And if you are a distributor but your supplier was arrested today, be careful: we are coming after you next.”
