PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday identifies 14 people connected to a largescale drug trafficking organization that allegedly smuggled narcotics into the U.S. from Mexico.
Investigators determined that some of the organization’s operations were being run out of a house in the 800 block of 105th Avenue in Vancouver.The 14-page indictment identifies:
Nestor Escatel Cruz, Karrilynn Rosander, Javier Ruiz Pacheco, Pedro Isais Javalera, Vincent Carl Woods, Jr, Josuah Don Hadley, Philip James Hine, William Randel Osborn, Harold Glenn Rath, Santiago Vazquez Valdez, Keith Daniel Rush, Sara Elizabeth Ramos, and an unidentified male as being the 14 suspects already in custody.
Two names from the indictment have been redacted because they are not yet in custody.
The indictment alleges several of the people in the organization worked together to import 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; 1 kilogram or more of heroin and 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. The drugs reportedly came from Mexico by way of vehicles that were equipped with hidden compartments.
To avoid detection from law enforcement the group “routinely obtained” new cell phones, according to the indictment.
The indictment lists some of the dates in which law enforcement intercepted the drugs that were being transported:
- Oct. 11, 2016 – 54 grams of cocaine
Oct. 12, 2016 – 495 grams of meth and 305 grams of heroin
Nov. 13, 2016 – 480 grams of meth
Dec. 6, 2016 – 4 kilograms of meth and 3700 grams of cocaine. In this instance, the person transporting the drugs was killed in a car crash. The drugs were supposedly headed to Washington.Dec. 28, 2016 – 250 grams of meth.
Jan. 10, 2017 – 250 grams of heroin
Jan. 11, 2017 – 6 kilograms of meth and 230 grams of heroin
The indictment against the 16 people was filed Feb. 8 but was just unsealed on Wednesday.