8 Arrested in DEA Bust of Drug Ring

Federal agents Wednesday arrested eight men they say are associated with a Southern California-based smuggling ring responsible for shipping an estimated 660 pounds of cocaine each month -- worth about $60 million a year -- to cities around the country.

“It was a very large-scale operation,” said Terri Flynn, the assistant U.S. attorney set to prosecute the case in Orange County. “Our goal was to dismantle the trafficking.”

Arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute were Lucio Pineda, 33; Bolivar Medrano, 39; Francisco Nava, 48; Francisco Nava Jr. 21; Manuel Avila Espinoza, 32; Cesar Corrales, 32; Ramiro Medrano, 29; and Fernando Valladolid, 25.

The eight -- along with another Fernando Valladolid and Amando Avila, both arrested earlier this month -- were scheduled to be arraigned today in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

None of the defendants, Flynn said, had been assigned attorneys. If convicted, she said, each could face from 10 years to life in prison. “The reason for so much time,” Flynn said, “is because of the amount of cocaine.”

Wednesday’s arrests took place at eight locations in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties, said Paul Clayton, the agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Orange County office, which investigated the case for nearly a year. During the course of the investigation, he said, federal and local officers seized about 473 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 4.5 pounds of Mexican heroin and more than $1 million in cash.

“Everything went down smoothly,” Clayton said. “This was a very long-term, difficult, time-intensive investigation.”

The DEA’s investigation -- assisted by several other agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the police departments of Costa Mesa, Irvine and Orange -- began about 10 months ago based on information provided by an informant, Clayton said. According to that information, he said, the operation smuggled drugs from Mexico to Southern California, packaged them at “stash” locations in Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties and then sent them by flatbed truck to cities such as Greensboro, N.C., and Atlanta.

“They all played different roles,” Clayton said of the men in custody. “Some of the truck drivers were arrested, and also people in command of the stash pads.”

As many as six more arrests are expected, he said.

“That will be the end of the Southern California cell,” Clayton said. “This was the heart of the operation.”