EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Twenty-six people are indicted in federal court and are accused of being part of a Sinaloa Cartel drug pipeline from Mexico to the St. Louis region.
The Drug Enforcement Administration said the case began in 2021 with the arrest of a man from O’Fallon, Illinois.
“We didn’t stop there,” said Michael Davis, special agent in charge of the DEA’s St. Louis Division. “We continued looking into this organization and what we found was the Mexican source of supply.”
Throughout the investigation, federal authorities say they seized 800 pounds of fentanyl, 150 pounds of methamphetamine and 100 pounds of cocaine.
According to the DEA, that is 200 million lethal doses of fentanyl.
The charges in this case range from conspiracy to distribute controlled substances to narco-terrorism.
“It’s absolutely critical that we have the ability to go and attack them at their source, and that’s what we’re doing,” said U.S. Attorney Steve Weinhoeft of the Southern District of Illinois.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump designated the Sinaloa cartel as a terrorist organization, allowing prosecutors to pursue narco-terrorism charges.
“Today’s indictment is a significant blow against this terrorist organization’s infrastructure as we carry out President Trump’s mission of dismantling and destroying the cartels,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
Weinhoeft said the investigation also targets the cartel’s finances.
“By attacking their drug distribution networks with the money laundering charges that we’ve brought, you’re really hitting at the core of their power structure,” he said.
The investigation involved collaboration between several federal agencies, including the DEA, HSI, IRS, U.S. Postal Inspection Services, and U.S. Marshals. Authorities said 15 of the 26 suspects are in custody. The suspects live across the country and include Mexican nationals as well.
“It’s going to take a minute to get our targets over in Mexico,” Davis said. “But we’ll get them. We’ll get them.”
Narco-terrorism charges could lead to life in prison. Below is a list of the suspects and their charges:
| Prospero Coronel-Sanchez,also known as “Pro” | 40 | Mexican national | Narcoterrorism; providing material support to foreign terrorist organization;Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy |
| Jose Luis Angulo-Soto, also known as “Jose Luis Angulo-Cazares” or “El Mi Nino” | Mexican national | Narcoterrorism;conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy | |
| German Angel Alatorre-Monge | 24 | South Gate, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Leobardo Alcaraz-Ibarra | 51 | Phoenix | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Miguel Angel Aramburo, Jr. | 34 | Paramount, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Manuel Buenrostro | 38 | Cudahy, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Oscar Bryan Castro | 34 | Pasadena, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy |
| Carlos Diaz, Jr. | 34 | Pasadena | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy |
| Alejandro Flores | 30 | Cudahy, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Armando Gallardo | 46 | Chula Vista, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Karen L. Gandarillas-Carreno | 36 | Sun Valley, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy |
| Roberto J. Gonzalez, Jr. | 39 | Bell, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Sabrina Danielle Herrera | 35 | South Gate, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Mauro Armando Luna-Renteria | 39 | Lynwood, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Lucia Viridiana Montano | 40 | Rio Rico, Arizona | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| David Alonso Pereda | 33 | Costa Mesa, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Memo Perez, also known as “Demecia Perez” | 50 | Los Angeles | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Jaqueline Desiree Piikkila-Vigueras | 49 | Tucson, Arizona | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy |
| Miguel Rios | 31 | Cudahy, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Richard Ruiz, Jr. | 27 | Paramount, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Evan Sanchez | 31 | Victorville, California | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Julio Villa-Morales | 36 | Tucson | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Jose Espino-Zavala | 44 | Mexican national | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Martin Ismael Zuniga-Lopez | 32 | Los Angeles | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine |
| Earl Frank | 56 | O’Fallon, Illinois | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy (2 counts); distribution of controlled substances: methamphetamine |
| Michael Pennel | 56 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; money laundering conspiracy |
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