DA – NBC 7 San Diego

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 1 minute read

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from dozens of agencies coordinated a series of raids Wednesday linked to what prosecutors called an “Imperial Valley-based fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution network linked to the Sinaloa cartel.

In total, the 14 indictments focused on 47 members of the criminal operation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, with 36 arrests made so far. Eleven of the suspects are now considered to be on the run. Among those arrested was Alexander Grindley, charged with trafficking methamphetamine while employed as a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Two other Russian-made AR-style rifles, a pistol, magazines and ammunition, all of which prosecutors say were traded for drugs. Photo courtesy of the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of California

Dozens of agencies – including Homeland Security, DEA, Border Patrol, ICE, ATF and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department – coordinated the arrests in San Diego; Imperial County; Fresno; Los Angeles; Phoenix; and Salem, Oregon, according to the district attorney's office.

The numbers associated with the raid help understand its scope:

About 2 million doses of fentanyl (nearly 9 pounds)
714 pounds of meth
52 firearms, including several AR-style weapons, as well as pistols, magazines, unfinished firearm parts used to create a ghost gun, and a cache of Russian-made ammunition

“With this takedown, the Department of Justice has dealt another blow to the Sinaloa Cartel and its associates,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

Cory Gershen, 36, of Jacumba, was also arrested or named in the indictments; Christopher Landon Bustin, 40, of Chula Vista; and Yomayra Patricia Penuelas, 37, of El Cajon.