Drug bust involving Chandler family nets more than 40 arrests

Drug bust involving Chandler family nets more than 40 arrests

by Matt Loper - May. 18, 2012 12:53 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team

Authorities arrested more 40 people suspected to be involved in a drug organization across the Phoenix metro area after a year-long investigation that started with a Chandler family.

The investigation began in early 2011 and authorities made the final arrests Thursday, according to Det. Seth Tyler, spokesman for the Chandler Police Department.

Chandler residents Grace Valencia and her two sons, Jonathon and Ricky Valencia, were the first to be investigated on suspicion of involvement in illegal drug sales, Tyler said.

Officials suspected the Valencias might be a part of a Valleywide organization focused on the distribution and sales of heroin and cocaine in the community and in the Arizona prison system, Tyler said.

More people suspected in the case came to light, including street and prison gang members along with inmates serving time in state prisons, Tyler said.

Authorities found more than 32 pounds of heroin and five pounds of cocaine after they served arrest warrants at homes across the Valley during the more than a year authorities investigated, Tyler said. Officials suspected the organization to be a major supplier of illegal narcotics.

The estimated street value of the drugs seized was $1.75 million, Tyler said. Authorities believe the narcotics originated in Mexico.

The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Chandler Police Department's Narcotics and Gang Units, The Arizona Department of Public Safety's State Gang Task Force and Highway Patrol, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations Gang Investigations Group, the Arizona Department of Corrections Security Threat Group Unit, and the Arizona State Attorney General's Office, Tyler said.

Drug bust involving Chandler family nets more than 40 arrests

Mom and 8 sons busted for running heroin ring

Posted: May 18, 2012 11:16 AM CDT
VIDEO AT LINK


CHANDLER, Ariz. - A major drug bust has occurred in the valley – and a Chandler mother and her eight sons are suspected of smuggling heroin into Arizona from Mexico.

Police said the mother, Grace Valencia Lara, and her sons were allegedly selling heroin and cocaine in downtown Chandler.
"Our investigators learned, this family was a part of a larger organization," said Chandler Police Det. Seth Tyler.

While investigating the family, they stumbled on a much bigger drug ring.

Police have arrested six of the brothers and said they think they were the bridge to smuggling drugs much further away than Chandler.
"There's probably good likelihood the drugs originated in Mexico from one of the cartels," said Det. Tyler.

Police said the Valencia Lara family was on their radar. They had been called to the house for domestic violence and other crimes.
Authorities seized 30 pounds of heroin, along with cocaine and a small amount of marijuana.

The drugs are worth $1.75 million.

Police said at least 40 people were arrested and are facing drug and gang-related charges. They are street and prison gang members, along with criminals from the illegal drug distribution trade.

The drug ring has been under investigation for a year, but it's believed that it had been operating for two to five years.

Other suspects were allegedly smuggling drugs into state prisons, along with distributing them throughout the valley.

This means local street gangs who sold drugs in the valley somehow managed to infiltrate the state prison system and sell drugs to inmates.

Authorities are calling this bust "a significant dent in the heroin and cocaine trade."

Chandler police, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Corrections, the state Gang Task Force and the Attorney General's Office worked as a team on the investigation.

Mom and 8 sons busted for running heroin ring - FOX 10 News - Phoenix, AZ | KSAZ-TV

Overdose victim was supplied by drug ring

May 18, 2012

CHANDLER, Ariz. -Investigators believe a Chandler family put millions of dollars worth of heroin on the streets. One of their alleged customers died from an overdose, and we talked to his family.
After 22-year-old Peter Romeo died of a heroin overdose, his mom helped police in the investigation.

Dina Knight found her son upstairs. His heart had stopped. She supplied police with Peter's cell phone, hoping they would find the drug dealers who supplied him with the drugs that ended his life.
Knight also called Grace Valencia Lara, the woman at the center of the drug ring, after Peter's death.

"I called her one day and she answered. I said this is Peter's mom, and she said 'oh,' and laughed kind of nervous. I said, 'I just want you to know you ruined my life, you ruined my life and broke my heart and you better stay away from my daughter.'"

Romeo was a Marine, just days away from going to Afghanistan.
"He was a wrestler. He did karate, dance, anything he did was 100 percent. He lived life 100 percent, he was with his friends 100 percent, the Marines were everything to him."

Valencia Lara and 8 of her sons were charged. Knight says she plans to attend the suspects' trial.

Overdose victim was supplied by drug ring - FOX 10 News - Phoenix, AZ | KSAZ-TV