Cocaine Conspirators Arrested for Importing Hundreds of Kilograms of Cocaine Into South Carolina

Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles and Special Agent in Charge David A. Thomas of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Special Agent in Charge Dan Salter of the Drug Enforcement Administration stated that 19 individuals have been recently indicted and arrested for conspiring to distribute cocaine across Aiken, Lexington, Saluda, Sumter, Richland, and Lee Counties in violation of Section 846 of Title 21, United States Code. Those recently indicted and arrested as part of this coordinated local, state and federal investigation were Juan Pablo Contreras, a/k/a “Juan David Montoya” (Sumter); Eduardo Esaid Contreras-Reyes (Sumter); Marco Antonio Castro, a/k/a “Chino” (West Columbia); Javier Toscano-Serrano (West Columbia); Andre LeWayne Brooks (Sumter); Jimmy Tony McDowell, a/k/a “Jimmy Fingers” (Sumter); Jermaine Terrell Hilton, a/k/a “Fifty” (Sumter); Michael Antonio Floyd, a/k/a “Tony,” “Tone,” and “Fat Tony” (Sumter); Rayshon Jamaal Foster, a/k/a “Shan” and “Terry Brown” (Sumter); Donald Antwon Dingle, a/k/a “Red” and “Flash” (Sumter); Corey Emanuel White, a/k/a “Chopper,” “Choppa,” and “El Chop” (Sumter); Damonion Mckinzie Bing (Aiken); Alvaro Valencia-Gonzalez, a/k/a “Shorty” (Aiken); Alejandro Quinones Leyva, a/k/a “Guero” (North Carolina); Travis Jermaine Pough (Aiken); Andre Maurice Hightower (Lexington); Antonio Terrill Sweat, a/k/a “Tony” (Aiken); Harold Matthew McFadden (Sumter); and Bryant Christopher Ford (Atlanta, Georgia).

These arrests follow months of intense investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement partners that began with concerns raised by local law enforcement in Aiken, Lexington, Saluda, Sumter, Richland, and Lee Counties about violence, gangs, and substantial drug trafficking. As a result, federal agencies joined with our state and local counterparts to target both the street gangs and the sources of this cocaine supply. That investigation resulted in the identification of 22 individuals responsible for importing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Atlanta into South Carolina and then distributing across the Midlands. Assisting in the investigation and today?s operation included the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, US Postal Inspectors, SLED, SC DPPPS, Sumter Police Department, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, Aiken Police Department, Lexington County Sheriff’s Office, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Police Department, Lee County Sherriff’s Office, Chester County Sheriff’s Office, Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

United States Attorney Bill Nettles explained: “If we are going to effectively fight violent crime and gangs, we must seek to curtail illegal drugs, the fuel that powers these gangs. In order to do this, the law enforcement community must stand together and present a unified front, seamlessly sharing information and each department undertaking the tasks that they are best prepared to address. This case is a sterling example of that type of teamwork.”

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J.D. Rowell and Kelly Hall. The United States Attorney stated that all charges in this Indictment are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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