In addition, Anthony Tyrone Menefee, 45, of Southland Drive, was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. New Martinsville and Sistersville Residents Among 31 Indicted in Drug Ring by W.Va. Grand Jur 11 Law Enforcement Agencies Seize Drugs, Cash Guns Top Headlines. The following suspects were taken into custody for the following charges. A federal indictment filed in April 2019 accused Jose Alfredo Santacruz-Godinez and others of maintaining residences around Axton for "receiving, storing, packaging and distributing controlled substances.". “Their actions have contributed to the opioid crisis faced by our country.”. Martinsville Police arrest 33 following massive drug bust MARTINSVILLE – On Tuesday November 6, 2018 a Martinsville Grand Jury met and handed down 235 indictments. In a case that highlights CJNG's deep reach into unexpected corners of small-town America, authorities said the Jalisco-based cartel had sent people to live in Axton, while CJNG shipped in at least 20 kilos of cocaine each month since 2015, along with other drugs such as marijuana it sent through the U.S. mail. And there were rumors of cartels' presence and connections to certain crimes, including the drug-related killings of two Mexican brothers in 2014, one of whom was found shot in the head in a Ford F-150 in Axton. The story of how at least eight federal, state and local agencies from at least two states, including the Drug Enforcement Administration and a Virginia drug task force, conducted a more than two-year investigation to unravel strands of a CJNG-fueled trafficking web extended more than 230 miles northeast to the small-town streets of Winchester. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes, they work tirelessly and many hours, that many don’t see.”, Chief Wiltermood, along with Mayor Kohl and Deputy Chief John Richards, thank the Police Department for its work and challenges the officers to “keep up the good work.”. It's playing an increasing role in filling U.S. demand for super-pure meth, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and other drugs, appearing in at least 35 states, a Courier Journal investigation found, including the Virginia countryside. About 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 1, Eduardo "Lalo" Hernandez-Sanchez, the courier who had just made the pickup from Axton, was pulled over in Boone’s Mill by police. “I don’t want to know where they are at,” she said. After more investigation, Virginia prosecutors earlier this year indicted 12 more people in Axton and Winchester it named as members or associates of the CJNG cartel, though some denied that connection. They said he prescribed controlled substances to every patient in the Martinsville, Va., practice he opened in August 2015. She said they had to rebuild the floors and walls, but didn't know why they had been torn out. Another woman, Lisa Vasquez-Ahumada, also purchased guns and used her bank account to transfer drug-connected money. Do they have pictures of my kids? Neighbors near one home said they never met the former residents but sometimes heard music. Vicky received two years in prison, and Judith was sentenced to seven years. A decade later, the former sheriff and other officers were indicted in a case that included selling drugs and stealing guns. "Imagine the damage (the drugs) did to Virginia and the East Coast" in that time, Jones said. “I need someone to drive me that has a driver's license, and he's (Kiko) willing to pay for the trip.”. Officers found the cocaine hidden in detergent containers. Rodríguez-Ávila acted innocent, saying he was simply helping the women reach the airport to visit their boyfriends. On a day in September, a handful of women battling drug addiction sat inside a church in a strip mall listening to a woman who had been addicted to drugs and who lost her husband to an overdose. Serving Lawrence and surrounding counties since 1948! “CJNG is one of the most dangerous drug cartels in the world, and its members and associates are actively operating in the Shenandoah Valley and Southside Virginia,” United States Attorney Cullen stated today. Smith said the site was the venue, and had been on multiple past occasions, for illegal cockfighting. On Thursday, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office executed search warrants at 101 Preston Scales Drive in Martinsville and 286 Tower Road in Bassett. The company became the fifth drugmaker to avoid the first federal trial that tries to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for the drug scourge. Eventually, investigators saw links stretching to Winchester, one strand of a much larger web. For Judith, “It was too late. "We knew there was a large amount of cocaine and other drugs moving through the area,” he said, but the source often remained difficult to trace. Nearly all have Hispanic names and live in nearby North Carolina. Effie bought a $900 AK-47 at Bear’s Pawn Shop for him. But really, the majority are just committed to working hard," said Eli Salgado of Axton. She worries about whether the cartel could try and find her. Court records don't detail exactly what occurred at that home. He is currently held in the Henry County Jail without bond. The story behind how Mexico’s most vicious cartel left a wake of addiction and ruined lives in this small town. Some people are too scared to talk. “The department, Patrol Division and our street officers have done a great job in getting drugs and offenders off the street,” he said. Authorities said organizers believed the women would be less vulnerable to a traffic stop. Cash, methamphetamine, firearms, multiple-edged weapons and assorted property, including vehicles, were seized from the property. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. While estimates of cartel drug flows are notoriously unreliable, federal officials have said CJNG smuggles at least 120 tons of high-purity meth and cocaine into the U.S. a year, making it a top target. “This is showing me the morale of the department is picking back up.”, Mayor Shannon Kohl expressed her gratitude. And not before the communities paid a steep cost. After nearly a year of Hickey's involvement in the investigation, which included ariel surveillance, GPS trackers on cars and wiretaps, they planned to raid at least a dozen locations including in Axton and Winchester, and the split-level house on a quiet street where Rodríguez-Ávila lived. He recruited locals to ferry drugs, purchase weapons and move cash, they said.
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