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December 11, 2008

ICE-led multi-agency probe dismantles Central Valley drug trafficking ring

FRESNO, Calif. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents teamed with officers from 10 other federal and local law enforcement agencies to arrest 10 individuals in the Central Valley yesterday, as part of an investigation targeting a locally-based criminal ring suspected of importing and selling large quantities of methamphetamine throughout the western United States.

The defendants were taken into custody yesterday during the execution of nine federal search warrants in and around the communities of Porterville, Terra Bella and Tulare, Calif. During those searches, investigators seized numerous guns along with ammunition and more than $50,000.

Nine of the 10 defendants arrested yesterday were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fresno. They are accused of participating in a long-term conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine. Those named in the indictment are:

  • Adrian Negrete-Hernandez, 42, of Terra Bella, Calif.;
  • Janet Martinez, 19, of Terra Bella, Calif.;
  • Ismael Casas, 21, of Terra Bella, Calif.;
  • Michael Ramos, 22, of Terra Bella, Calif.;
  • Juan Delgado-Montenegro, 42, of Porterville, Calif.;
  • Ageda Perez, aka "Guerita," of Lindsay, Calif.;
  • Olegario Trujillo, 22, of Tulare, Calif.;
  • Luis Cortez-Mendoza, 25, of Tulare, Calif.; and
  • Alejandro Mejia, 19, of Bakersfield, Calif.

A tenth suspect in the case, Pedro Delgado-Montenegro, 29, of Porterville, Calif., was arrested and charged with re-entering the country illegally after deportation when he appeared during a drug deal at a Home Depot parking lot that had been negotiated by his brother, Juan Delgado-Montenegro.

The arrests are the result of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation led by the Southern Tri-County High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. HIDTA is made up of agents from ICE, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE), the sheriff's offices in Kern and Tulare counties; and the Bakersfield Police Department. In addition, the Task Force received assistance on yesterday's operation from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), as well as from the Fresno, Tulare and Porterville police departments.

Yesterday's arrests stem from an intensive investigation that initially targeted Juan Delgado-Montenegro, an illegal alien whose Porterville-based drug trafficking organization obtained drugs from Mexico and domestically. The investigation revealed that another one of the defendants, Negrete-Hernandez, was one of elder Delgado-Montenegro's suppliers.

"As in many small, rural communities in this country, methamphetamine has taken hold of a number of residents of Porterville and Terra Bella," said United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott. "We applaud the federal, state and local agencies that united in this investigation to make a visible and real difference in these communities by dismantling the Delgado-Montenegro/Negrete drug trafficking organization based in Tulare County."

"Methamphetamine is a vicious drug that destroys lives and ruins communities," said David Marin, resident agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in Bakersfield. "One of the keys to dismantling these operations is to follow the money trail because greed is what fuels this dangerous trade. By pooling our information and our resources, ICE and its law enforcement partners succeeded in dismantling a criminal organization that posed a serious threat to many communities."

If convicted on the drug conspiracy charges, the defendants face a minimum 10-year prison sentence and a maximum penalty of life. Pedro Delgado-Montenegro faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The defendants are scheduled to make their next appearance in federal court December 19 at before the U.S. Magistrate Judge in Fresno.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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