23 Sentenced to Federal Prison for Meth and Cocaine Trafficking Operation from Southwest Border to Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS- The following 23 individuals have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in an extensive methamphetamine and money laundering conspiracy responsible for trafficking hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine:

According to court documents, Isaias Gonzalez-Torres was the primary Indianapolis ringleader of a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl into Indianapolis and surrounding areas to include Seymour, Columbus, and Terre Haute. The investigation resulted in the seizure of 82 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,750 fentanyl pills, a kilogram of cocaine, and nine firearms. The conspiracy would operate as follows:

Isaias Gonzalez-Torres and Erlin Lucero-Asencio worked in unison to coordinate large shipments of methamphetamine and other illegal narcotics from Edeer Avila in Mexico, Martin Felix-Garcia in Arizona, and others. The Indianapolis based drug trafficking organization (DTO) utilized an elaborate system of drug couriers and clandestine mail parcels to transport the methamphetamine and other drugs across the country for redistribution in rural communities throughout the Southern District of Indiana. Once the shipments of methamphetamine arrived in Indianapolis, the DTO utilized multiple stash houses to break down and store the drugs for further distribution.

The DTO employed multiple drug couriers to include Luis Daniel Hernandez, Andrew Calix-Maldonado, Julio Vicente-Guox, and Eduardo Rodriguez to deliver the methamphetamine to local distributors in Seymour, Columbus, and Terre Haute. These local distributors would then break down the narcotics for further redistribution in their respective communities.

Additionally, between October 2021 and March 2022 the defendants and other conspirators engaged in money laundering by depositing approximately $3,586,092 in United States currency into Candy Medina-Corcoles’ Bank of America account. Deposits occurred in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. From there, a conspirator would remove the funds from the account and transfer those drug proceeds to bank accounts based in Mexico.

Also, between January 2020 and April 2022, the defendants engaged in money laundering by sending at least 324 wire transfers totaling $291,116.08 from Indiana to Phoenix, Arizona and Mexico utilizing nominees to conceal their involvement in the wire transfers.

“This case exemplifies the mission of Operation Take Back America- to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the devastating effects of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cartel-driven crime,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Thanks to the dedication of our law enforcement partners and AUSA, we have severed a key pipeline of deadly drugs and illicit funds flowing into Indiana.”

“This case was a success thanks to the partnership between the Department of Justice, the DEA, and local law enforcement Task Force Officers,” said Greg O’Brien, Chief of the Seymour Police Department. “Without these TFOs, small rural towns wouldn’t have the resources to carry out operations like this. We value and appreciate our ongoing collaboration with the Department of Justice.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Seymour Police Department, and Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) investigated this case. The sentences were imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II.  

U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Gibson, who prosecuted this case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)