This week, federal, state and local authorities arrested 13 individuals residing in Austin, including ringleader Juan Aguirre, in connection with a cocaine/heroin/methamphetamine trafficking operation, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy, Houston Division, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, Cedar Park Police Chief Sean Mannix, Texas  Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw, Hays County Sheriff Gary Cutler, and IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Goss, Houston Field Office.

A federal grand jury indictment, returned in Austin and unsealed this week, charges those 13 plus four others residing in Austin who were previously arrested, with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.  The defendants, allegedly, conspired to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, more than one kilogram of heroin, methamphetamine and other narcotics in Austin since December 2016.  During this investigation, authorities seized approximately 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, seven kilograms of cocaine, five kilograms of heroin and more than $594,000 in U.S. Currency and assets attributed to this organization. 

Defendants who are charged in this indictment include:  32-year-old Juan Angel Aguirre (aka “Larry Aguirre”), 35-year-old Thomas Daniel Garcia, 40-year-old Daniel Orozco, 34-year-old Sergio Gonzalez-Martinez (aka “Flaco”), 35-year-old Eloy Jaimes-Jaramillo, 30-year-old Francisco Jaimes-Jaramillo (aka “Pancho”), 30-year-old Magaly Ortiz-Cabrera, 37-year-old Isaias Rodriguez-Ramirez, 26-year-old Gerardo Cruz-Jaramillo, 24-year-old Christian Maya-Garcia (aka “Kike”), 32-year-old Saul Lopez, Jr., 32-year-old Salatiel Martinez-Fierro, 20-year-old Jesus Garcia-Vargas (aka “Junior”), 26-year-old Leonardo Flores-Solis, 28-year-old Ociel Diaz-Torres, 42-year-old Abel Duarte-Castro, and 21-year-old Daniel Maya-Garcia (aka “Pelon,” “Bola”).  Gonzalez-Martinez, Flores-Solis, Diaz-Torres, and Duarte-Castro were already in custody prior to this week.

“The arrests made this week conclude an 18-month comprehensive investigation by the DEA and its state and local law enforcement partners here in Austin into the criminal activities of a dangerous poly drug trafficking organization,” said DEA SAC Glaspy. “With these arrests, key command and control elements of this criminal organization’s leadership have been apprehended and removed from the communities they sought to prey upon.”

All of the defendants remain in federal custody.  Each defendant faces between ten years and life in federal prison upon conviction.  Detention hearings are expected to occur over the next two weeks in U.S. Magistrate Court in Austin.

It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This case resulted from an investigation conducted by the DEA, Austin Police Department, Cedar Park Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Hays County Sheriff’s Office, and IRS-CI.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) assisted with the arrests.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Gardner is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.