Suspects Arrested in Alleged Drug Smuggling Operation Involving South Gate Truck Yards

By Patch Staff

A federal drug task force arrested 18 people linked to three alleged drug trafficking organizations that purportedly smuggled narcotics from Mexico.

"The 18 defendants arrested this morning are among 57 people charged in two indictments and one criminal complaint filed in United States District Court," said a Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson in a statement. "Authorities continue to search for the remaining defendants."

Authorities said that 7 pounds of methamphetamine, 3 firearms, four vehicles, around $50,000, as well as a functioning meth lab were all seized.  

“As the means and methods that drug trafficking organizations use evolve, so will law enforcement evolve to meet the challenge,” said André Birotte Jr., a United States Attorney, in a statement. “The allegations here describe a wide-ranging conspiracy to exploit aspects of our nation’s trucking and transportation system and funnel enormous amounts of dangerous narcotics into this country.”

Several local and federal agencies worked together to bring about this morning's takedown, including the South Gate Police Department (SGPD), The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD),  the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), among others.

“Through the cooperation of federal, state and local law enforcement, thousands of pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin have been seized, with a combined street value in the tens of millions of dollars,” said Anthony Williams, DEA Special Agent in Charge. “These drugs were en-route to our communities and neighborhoods.”

According to a DOJ statement, the investigation focused primarily on a Mexican drug trafficking organization that is allegedly headed by Miguel Angel Molinero-Castro.

“The Molinero organization used truck yards in South Gate and Wilmington to receive large quantities of controlled substances,” said a recent DOJ press-release.  “Hidden in PVC pipes that were further concealed in tractor trailer axles.”

Molinero, along with 37 others, is being accused by authorities of arranging for transporting narcotics by truck from Mexico to Nogales, Arizona, where co-conspirators would later transport the illicit substances to distributors in the Los Angeles area.

The criminal complaint charges all 38 defendants with “conspiracy to distribute controlled substances” and “possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.”

Another indictment related to this investigation has also charged another 8 defendants with conspiracy to distribute, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The latter narcotics were  allegedly smuggled from Mexico, and distributed from a South Gate truck yard.