Sixteen Charged in San Diego Drug Trafficking Network Takedown: 26.8 Kilograms of Fentanyl Seized
On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced in San Diego, San Diego County, California, that four federal indictments had been unsealed charging 16 individuals throughout San Diego County with distributing large quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin and laundering drug-trafficking proceeds.
In a coordinated takedown the day before, on April 16, more than 115 federal, state and local law enforcement officials arrested 10 defendants and executed three search warrants in the Nestor, Palm City and Encanto neighborhoods of the City of San Diego. Six defendants were still being sought.
Including seizures during the takedown and throughout the investigation, authorities confiscated 26.8 kilograms of powdered fentanyl; 5.7 kilograms of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, estimated at about 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 Ghibli; and nine firearms, including an AK-47.
U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said his office, together with its law enforcement partners, would disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations throughout the district, and that the investigation showed the direct results of implementing the Department's Take Back America priorities. DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Clark said the trafficking organization had peddled poison from coast to coast and that law enforcement had put their collective authorities together to dismantle it brick by brick. Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation's Los Angeles Field Office, said the indictments painted a picture of an organization trafficking dangerous drugs into communities, and that where there is money, there is a trail.
According to the indictments, the charges resulted from a 16-month investigation that used court-authorized wiretaps, undercover agents and confidential sources. The defendants allegedly distributed fentanyl and other dangerous drugs throughout the United States, including in Ohio and Kansas, on behalf of a San Diego County-based drug trafficking organization, and the organization allegedly used shell companies to gather and launder trafficking proceeds from other states, including Colorado, Minnesota and Nebraska.
The four indictments, case numbers 25cr0818-BAS, 25cr0819-BAS, 25cr0820-AJB and 25cr0821-WQH, charge offenses including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin, possession with intent to distribute, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and criminal forfeiture; the principal counts carry maximum penalties of life in prison, mandatory minimum terms of 10 years and fines of up to $10 million. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Deshong, and the investigation involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the Oceanside and Carlsbad police departments, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, among others.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) effort and the Department of Justice's Operation Take Back America. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California)
Source: 美国司法部加州南区检察官办公室
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于圣迭戈市中心的爱德华·J·施瓦茨美国联邦法院大楼（加州南区联邦法院所在地，资料图）。图：美国联邦司法机构，公共领域，via Wikimedia Commons / Photo: The Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse in downtown San Diego, home of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California (file photo). Photo: Federal Judiciary, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
