DOJ: 16 indicted in San Diego for allegedly distributing meth, fentanyl, heroin across US
The U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California, reports four indictments were unsealed in federal court on Thursday, charging 16 people in San Diego County with distributing large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin, and laundering the drug-trafficking proceeds.
DOJ: 22 charged for role in drug trafficking organization linked to Beltran Leyva Cartel
More than 115 federal, state, and local law enforcement officials worked together on Wednesday to arrest 10 people and execute three search warrants in the Nestor, Palm City, and Encanto neighborhoods in the City of San Diego.
As of Friday, six defendants were still being searched for by law enforcement.
According to the DOJ in Southern California, throughout the investigation, law enforcement seized the following:
26.8 kilograms of powdered fentanyl
5.7 kilograms of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl (estimated to be 57,000 pills)
25.7 kilograms of methamphetamine
1.5 kilograms of cocaine
1.1 kilograms of heroin
ketamine
MDMA
more than $40,000 in U.S. currency
a Maserati Ghibili
9 firearms, including an AK-47
According to the indictments, the defendants are accused of distributing the drugs throughout the country, including in Ohio and Kansas, on behalf of a San Diego County-based drug trafficking organization.
The investigation also uncovered the use of shell companies to gather and launder the proceeds of the drug trafficking enterprise from other states, including Colorado, Minnesota and Nebraska.
'Dangerous' drug trafficking ring shut down in Southern California
The charges are the result of a 16-month investigation that included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, undercover agents, and confidential sources, according to the DOJ.
'The indictments unsealed today paint a picture of an organization responsible for trafficking dangerous drugs into our communities – drugs that are killing Americans daily,' said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. 'These indictments should send a clear signal to drug trafficking organizations that where there's money, there's a trail, and IRS-CI is the best in the world at finding and following those trails. We are proud to partner with fellow law enforcement agencies to flush out DTOs that put our communities at risk.'
The DEA, Oceanside Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation, San Diego Police Department, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Carlsbad Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management collaborated on this investigation.
This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, and the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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