(Seguin) — A multi agency effort this week has led to the arrest of several individuals in the Seguin, San Marcos, San Antonio and Fort Worth areas. The two year investigation this week resulted in the round up of a group of drug traffickers with ties into Mexico. On Feb. 5, evidence was presented to a federal grant jury in the Western District of Texas securing the indictment of these 21 targets in this drug investigation.
Leading the investigation and initiating those arrests and search warrants were officials with the Seguin Police Department, the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Seguin Police Chief Terry Nichols say in September 2017, the San Antonio District Office Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force initiated the investigation dubbed “Operation Sinner.” He says this was a long-term investigation that targeted the heroin, cocaine and crystal methamphetamine distribution activities in the greater Seguin and San Antonio areas.
Nichols says what began as a local impact investigation gave way to this greater effort to identify and disrupt the transportation network and source supply of the narcotics being smuggled from the Republic of Mexico into the greater South Texas area.
Nichols says there was a mix of both men and women who were taken into custody. The latest seizure occurred Tuesday morning when officers seized and searched the properties of Jesse Ricky Escobedo, 39, of Seguin. Search warrants were served at a home in the 700 block of Geronimo Road in Geronimo. Officials say he was reportedly living there and taken into custody without incident. Officers also searched what is reported as his primary residence at 3032 Prairie Bluff in the Mill Creek Crossing subdivision.
Nichols says of the list of 21, 12 live in the Seguin, San Marcos and San Antonio areas, one in Austin, three in Fort Worth, two in the Republic of Mexico and three were already in federal custody.
“No, Mexican nationals that I’m aware of. We do have one of the folks on here who was a Seguin resident at one time who is in Mexico. He was obviously one of the 21 indicted so he’s living in Mexico,” said Nichols.
Nichols says he applauds the various agencies for coming together and continuing to press on. He says although it is an ongoing battle, it is making a difference.
“We are starting to hear now just recently that people do not want to come to Guadalupe County because of our narcotics task force. Thank you! I want to keep pushing that word out because you will be arrested. If you are trafficking narcotics in Seguin and Guadalupe County, we will target you and we will arrest you. So the drug trade that is out there listening — maybe listening to this press conference — yes, we do have a task force going on and yes we will arrest you so please stay out of our county and our city,” said Nichols.
Dante Sorianello, of the Drug Enforcement Administration, says the work is even more pressing as the manufacture and delivery of methamphetamines are on the rise.
“Methamphetamine is really the scrooge of the country right now. Everything that these gentlemen mentioned is as bad as it is and what is making it worse is that it is able to be produced in a location across the border and quantities and purity levels never seen before in the country and it’s powerful stuff and we are watching it,” said Sorianello.
Guadalupe County Sheriff Arnold Zwicke says partnering to do the work is what he believes is making a difference and says all officers should be applauded for this latest round-up.
“It’s never been stronger just coming together on different operations that we’ve been doing over the past two years and now with this hitting the eight or 10 plus that we had prior to this and amazingly, none of it was tied to what we did here. This was a deal that’s been going on for several years, a lot of intel and stuff that has brought it together today and I’m proud of that — working with these different guys. The DEA has been phenomenal and their support to reach worldwide and the Department of Public Safety doing what they do to help us on a state level, it’s great,” said Zwicke.
Sorianello says this batch of individuals to be arrested is only the latest layer of offenders who been identified in Operation Sinner. Prior to his operation, the investigation overall has resulted in the arrest of 47 subjects along with the seizure of approximately 22 kilograms of methamphetamine, one kilogram of cocaine, 400 grams of crack cocaine and 145 grams of heroin. Sorianello says these subjects are predators — predators that need to be stopped.
“Whether they become drug addicts, whether they die — as long as they get that dollar and they don’t care how they do it. If they rob somebody to get the money, if they break into vehicles — when you break it down and again the statistics that the police and sheriff will have, you are going to find out a lot of it comes back to drug trafficking so it’s something that we have to keep going at,” said Sorianello.
Sorianello says the fight against drugs is no longer a local fight but more of a united fight. He says as long as there are drug dealers pushing the product, then the marathon of working to get them off the streets will continue.
“But the warning to drug traffickers, we are getting better and better and with the teamwork we have and the people who are not up here are the prosecutors at the federal and state level who close the deal on this. Lookout, because if you are out there, we are going to get you and we’ve got a good team that’s going after you. So, if you want to play this game. That’s okay. We are here,” said Sorianello.
Other agencies also stepping in to assist in the search warrants and arrests include the US Marshal’s Service, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, the Terrell Hills Police Department and the Hays County Narcotics Task Force.
Those 12 suspects arrested in and around Seguin include Jesse Escobedo, 39; Anna Flota, 33; Reynaldo Gil, a.k.a. Big Boy, 33; Brandon Graves, a.k.a B-Loc, 33; Brian Martinez, 40; Sally “Rosie” Moreno, 37; Juan Eugenio Perales, 42; Raquel Rivera, 28; Tanilo George Rodriguez, 35; Michael Schmidt, 27; Ronald Clark, 40 and Russell Bosquez, 45.
Each face charges ranging from conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, aiding and abetting and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.