Vista
The suspected kingpin of an international drug ring was arrested at his Vista home early Wednesday, a Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman said.
David John Moreno, 51, of the 2400 block of Catalina Avenue was seized in connection with a two-year investigation involving DEA and Internal Revenue Service investigators, DEA spokesman Ron D’Ulisse said.
The investigation centers on Moreno’s alleged involvement in distributing Mexican and Thai marijuana in the United States and Canada as well as the filing of false tax returns, D’Ulisse said. No dollar figures connected to any of the charges were given.
Moreno’s Vista home and a house in the 1700 block of Caudor Street in Leucadia were seized, D’Ulisse said. The houses are valued at $350,000 each. The name of the owner of the second house was not available.
Investigators are still trying to locate other suspected ring members, D’Ulisse said.
A U.S. District Court spokeswoman said a grand jury returned an unsealed indictment against Moreno on Wednesday.
Moreno is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, and bail will be determined at a detention hearing Monday.
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