Anthony, NM, just a sleepy little town.......

Drug arrests center on Anthony, New Mexico pecan farm

By Diana Washington Valdez \ El Paso Times
01/28/2012 12:00:00 AM MST

The owners of a pecan farm in Anthony, N.M., and a codes enforcement officer in Horizon City were arrested Friday on federal charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, according to officials.

Eight people were arrested on various charges of a 24-count federal indictment that was unsealed Thursday, and one person was arrested on a criminal complaint.

According to the indictment, from September 2011 through January 2012, the defendants conspired to distribute cocaine and heroin, said Elizabeth Martinez, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Albuquerque.

Charged in the indictment are Oscar L. Portillo Sr., 53, and his wife, Sandra L. Portillo, 51, part owners and operators of Pettit Farms and Nursery, a pecan farm and nursery. Also charged were their sons, Matthew Portillo, 25, and Oscar Portillo Jr., 29.

The indictment also charges Cesar Ramos, 32, Fernando A. Ramos, 40, and Ruben Ortiz-Rivera, 46, of El Paso, and Natasha N. Coronado, 23, of Vinton.

April Garcia, 35, a codes enforcement officer employed by the Horizon City Police Department, is charged in a criminal complaint, Martinez said.

The arrests stemmed from a multi-agency five-month investigation, which included the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in El Paso, the FBI office in New Mexico and the Internal Revenue Service in Arizona.

Officials said that Oscar L. Portillo Sr. and Sandra L. Portillo used the pecan farm as a place to store and sell drugs, and they and that their sons

sold drugs to an undercover agent on five occasions.Oscar L. Portillo Sr. and Sandra L. Portillo allegedly laundered the proceeds from some of these drug deals by asking an undercover agent to pay for the drugs with money orders that the suspects cashed and deposited into bank accounts in the name of the pecan farm. They also allegedly provided the agent with invoices that falsely asserted that the agent had purchased pecan trees.

Matthew Portillo and Oscar Portillo Jr. assisted their parents in distributing drugs and laundering drug proceeds, officials alleged.
According to the indictment, Cesar Ramos and Fernando Ramos and Ruben Ortiz-Rivera, were the source of the drugs for the Portillo family.

The criminal complaint charging April Garcia alleges that she conspired with others to possess cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and to launder drug proceeds.

While executing the search warrants in connection with the arrests, officers seized about 450 grams of cocaine, a quantity of marijuana, five firearms (a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and three pistols), nine vehicles and a tractor.

"This investigation targeted a Southern New Mexico-based drug trafficking organization responsible for the transportation of shipments of cocaine and marijuana from Chihuahua, Mexico, to locations throughout the United States," said El Paso DEA Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit.

"Organizations such as this one are essential to distribution networks of Mexican suppliers, and the arrests and seizures in this case will affect their ability to conduct business as usual."

Drug arrests center on Anthony, New Mexico pecan farm - El Paso Times



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