ABILENE, Texas —
Seventeen men and women from the Big Country, described as alleged drug dealers, were arrested Wednesday in a multi-agency large-scale drug bust in Abilene, the Abilene Police Department and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton said.
APD's Narcotics Division assisted in the operation involving more than 80 agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the APD, Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations. Throughout the operation, agents seized 29 kilograms of methamphetamine, 721 grams of cocaine, 1370 grams of fentanyl and 60 guns.
Those charged in four separate indictments unsealed Thursday include:
- Diana Nichole Perez, a.k.a. Diana Santana - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Orson Rolando Ortegon - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Rafael Perez - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Eddie Ochoa Lomas - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Angel Alvarez - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Hannah Rai Gongora, a.k.a. Hannah Alvarez - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and possession of firearms (a Taurus 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and a Sarsilmaz 9mm semiautomatic pistol missing a serial number) in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
- Jacob Lee DeLeon - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Jason Eugene DeLeon - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Nathaniel Deal - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Lisa Ann Beckham - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Gloria Santibanez - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Petra Soliz - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Alexandrea Delgado - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Laura Trevino - charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Juan Manuel Oliveros Jr. - charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Joseph Brassell - charged with possession to distribute fentanyl
- Joshua Gosson - charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and with possession of a firearms (a Rohm, RG10 Model, .22 caliber short barrel revolver) in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In a release, the Abilene Police Department acknowledged the hard work of each of the law enforcement agencies in the operation, saying "Our community is a better place due to the hard work of all of the involved agencies."
If convicted, some defendants face up to life in federal prison. The cases are being prosecuted by the West Texas branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.