Reno heroin, cocaine distribution case leads to federal indictments of 17 people
December 4, 2009

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A Reno federal grand jury has indicted 17 people in a heroin and cocaine distribution case, the U.S. Attorney's Office said today.



All were charged in three indictments issued Wednesday. Fifteen are Mexican nationals in the country illegally, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.


One indictment charges Ismael Nunez-Garcia and four others with conspiring to distribute and possess more than 4 ounches of heroin and more than 8 ounces of cocaine between Oct. 28 and Nov. 20, the day they were arrested.


Authorities executed search warrants at a Reno home and Sparks apartment and found about 3 pounds of heroin, 13 ounces of cocaine and about $45,000 in money, most of it in a safe, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The drugs were packaged in colored balloons or plastic wrap and some were in empty deodorant containers, authorities said. They face up to 40 years in prison.


A second indictment charges Adrian Castaneda and five others with conspiracy to distribute and possession more than 4 ounces of heroin and a detectable amount of cocaine between about October 28 and November 20. Five defendants were arrested on Nov. 19 after a search warrant was served at a Sparks home. There authorities found heroin packaged in colored balloons, a large amount of U.S. money in bound stacks, a digital scale and hundreds of empty balloons of the same type used to package the drugs, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.. These defendants also face up to 40 years in prison.


The third indictment charges Salvador Gonzalez-Palafox and five others with conspiracy to distribute and possess 4 ounches or more of heroin and a detectable amount of cocaine between Oct. 28 and Nov. 20. Four defendants were arrested on Nov. 19 after a search warrant was served at a Reno home. The U.S. Attorney's Office said they found a half pound of heroin in a garage and 2 ounches of cocaine. It had been packaged in colored balloons. They also face up to 40 years in prison.


Gonzalez-Palafox and two others are also charged with using a person younger than 18 to distribute heroin and cocaine, which could bring an 80-year prison sentence.


In addition to the drug charges, five have been charged separately with illegally reentering the United States: Ismael Nunez-Garcia, Jose Hernandez-Andrade, Miguel Rodriguez-Jimenez, Felipe Quintero-Ramos, and Salvador Gonzalez-Palafox They face up to five years in prison in addition to any other time.


Ten defendants will be arraigned before the megistrate this afternoon: Salvador Gonzalez-Palafox, Juan de la Rosa, Gregorio Delgadillo-Perez, Hugo Venadero-Avila, Efrain Cervantez-Cano, Carlos Andulo-Renteria, Ruben Rodriguez, Maximiliano Sanchez-Martinez, Jose Guadalupe Guzman-Cruz and David Garcia-Moreno Five other are scheduled for arraignment and pleas on Mondya: Ismael Nunez-Garcia, Rosalva Avila, Felipe Quintero-Ramos, Miguel Rodriguez-Jimenez and Erick Duran Pacheco. Two others are believed to be fugitives, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.


The cases are a product of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administratoin, assisted by the Northern Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and its participating agencies, including the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, Nevada Department of Public Safety, and the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office.


http://www.rgj.com/article/20091204/NEW ... -17-people