Eleven Arrested in Cocaine-Firearms Crackdown

December 4, 2011 6:03 pmBy: Fairfax News


Eleven men were arrested yesterday as part of an ongoing, three-year investigation of interconnected cocaine and firearm distributors largely operating out of Manassas and Fairfax County. To date, more than 60 people have been charged since the operation’s inception in 2009.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and William Hoover, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after the defendants were arrested and made their initial appearances in federal court.

According to court documents, the men are allegedly part of a trafficking ring that supplies large quantities of cocaine to street-level dealers. Members of the conspiracy are natives of several countries, most of whom are illegally present in the United States from Mexico.

Many of the alleged members are part of or affiliated with street gangs, such as La Raza, SUR 13, and 18th Street. To date, the total amount of cocaine purchased or seized by law enforcement during this particular investigation is more than three kilograms. Law enforcement has also purchased or seized more than 20 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition during this phase of the investigation.

The following were arrested as part of a coordinated takedown on Nov. 30, 2011:
â–*Jerry Lamberto Cardenas, a/k/a “Jerry,â€