7 plead guilty to running a major East Bay fentanyl distribution network
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Six East Bay residents and an Oregon native have pleaded guilty to maintaining a major fentanyl distribution network in Oakland and San Leandro.
The pleas were just the latest development as federal, state and local officials continue their efforts to shut down the flow of the deadly drug into the Bay Area.
U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Raga announced on Thursday that the guilty pleas had been accepted by the U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
In connection with entering their guilty pleas, each defendant submitted to the court a written plea agreement.
Javier Castro Banegas-Medina (Castro); Elmer Rosales-Montes; and Jose Ivan Cruz-Caceres admitted to engaging in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl to numerous people who acted as re-distributors, selling the drugs to others.
The defendants charged as re-distributors were Jihad Jad Tawasha; William Joseph Laughren; Heather Borges; and Yeny Lizeth Fernandez-Reyes.
Castro admitted that his drug trafficking organization distributed more than 22 pounds of fentanyl in Oakland and San Leandro. The operation distributed the deadly drug from two residences, one located in San Leandro and the other in Oakland were Castro lived with other members of his organization including Rosales-Montes and Cruz-Caceres.
Castro described in his plea agreement that he set up a price list based on the strength of the fentanyl, which involved dying fentanyl different colors such as blue, yellow, pink, purple, and green. Castro admitted that he and his co-members of drug trafficking organization sold well over 100 orders for fentanyl between approximately April 21, 2021, and May 19, 2021.
Rosales-Montes and Cruz-Caceres pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl from April 21 to May 25, 2021. The pair delivered the drugs to customers by rendezvousing at a gas station or a car wash near the residences. At those locations, they would engage in hand-to-hand transactions of fentanyl with the buyers in exchange for cash.
Jad Tawasha admitted that on April 26, 2021, he drove to the Oakland residence and bought seven ounces of fentanyl, then drove to Modesto where he intended to distribute it. He was arrested three days later with multiple ounces of fentanyl.
Borges admitted that she bought fentanyl from the organization on multiple occasions, and that on May 6, 2021, in Oakland she bought 10 ounces of fentanyl which she intended to distribute. However, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on her car and seized the drugs.
Rosales-Montes and Cruz-Caceres were arrested with others at the Oakland residence on May 25, 2021, when law enforcement investigators executed search warrants at both the Oakland and San Leandro residences.
During the Oakland search nvestigators recovered approximately 10 kg of fentanyl and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in multiple calibers that had been hidden in fenceposts surrounding the Oakland property.
Castro, Rosales-Montes, Cruz-Caceres and Fernandez-Reyes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl.
Borges pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl.
All five defendants face a maximum prison term of 40 years, with a mandatory minimum prison term of 5 years.