Sinaloa cartel tied to Middletown fentanyl ring for first time, feds say

A federal indictment unsealed Thursday alleges a dozen individuals in the Middletown area are connected to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, a first for the small city located between Cincinnati and Dayton, according to federal officials.

The individuals allegedly distributed fentanyl and heroin from Mexico in Middletown and sent laundered proceeds back to the cartel in Mexico.

The indictment details how undercover FBI agents posed as money launderers with two individuals located in Mexico, who are both charged with offenses in California.

After the drugs had been sold, conspirators allegedly arranged bulk cash transports ranging anywhere from $25,000 to $180,000 back to Mexico.

Investigators say they witnessed at least seven pick-ups – six on Tivoli Lane, a residential street in Springdale, and one at a Comfort Inn and Suites in West Chester.

The indictment revealed Thursday details the six bulk cash pickups, also described as "drug mule" trips, were allegedly organized by 24-year-old Donte Holdbrook of Middletown to multiple locations in California and Arizona.

One trip was allegedly organized by Christopher Watkins, a reserve police officer with the Seven Mile police department who officials accuse of traveling to Ontario, California, to pick up narcotics in exchange for $1,000 in cash.

A reserve police officer, also known as an auxiliary officer, can be a volunteer or paid worker on the department for which they work.

Officials allege Watkins was recruited in order to aid the group in avoiding police while traveling with the drugs.

"Mexican cartel leaders who supply fentanyl and other opioids and other drugs to drug dealers here in the Southern District of Ohio should know they are not safe from our law enforcement efforts," Ben Glassman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said in a press conference. "They're in our sights. We will investigate them, we will charge them and we will bring them to justice. We're going to increase the cost of doing drug trafficking business for the cartels in Mexico."

Glassman was joined by FBI Special Agent Angela Byers and officials from Middletown police, Preble County and Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The Middletown ring is just one piece of the nationwide investigation unveiled Thursday, that's estimated to have been underway for a year.

In addition to the dozen charged, officials say 40 defendants have been charged in San Diego as well as additional defendants charged in Columbus, Ohio, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the District of Kansas and the Eastern District of Washington.

Those charged in the Cincinnati case include:

Jose Chavez-Meraz, 55, Mexico

Rolando Chavez-Garcia, 24, Mexico

Favrisio Orozco-Meraz, 34, Mexico

Raul Trejo, 52, Middletown, Ohio

Donte Holdbrook, 24, Middletown, Ohio

Mariela Penaloza, 25, Cleveland, Ohio

Charleston Quinn, 34, Mason, Ohio

Frank Frazier, Jr., 24, Middletown, Ohio

Jesus Diaz, 47, Ontario, California

Jettie Bailey, 23, Middletown, Ohio

Christopher Watkins, 23, Trenton, Ohio

Courtney Bailey, 24, Middletown, Ohio

All have been arrested, except for the three individuals believed to be in Mexico.

The indictment alleges that the drug trafficking ring in southern Ohio would receive the narcotics from Mexico from Jose Chavez-Meraz. The drugs initially entered the country in California and Arizona, where "drug mules" would then transport the drugs to southern Ohio.

Officials said the Middletown drug-trafficking operation would send drug proceeds back to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico through Jose Lopez-Albarran, who is described as a known Sinaloa cartel boss and money launderer.

Glassman would not go into detail as to how Holdbrook became connected with leaders of the Sinaloa cartel.

According to the Ohio indictment, from March to May last year, investigators observed multiple fentanyl sales in Middletown, several of them in exchange for up to $2,400 in a single sale.

In August of last year, troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol stopped Jettie and Courtney Bailey in a traffic stop in Preble County, and discovered nearly three kilograms of fentanyl and two kilograms of heroin concealed in the vehicle's fuel tank.

Holdbrook was found in possession of 366 grams of fentanyl during a traffic stop in December.

The crimes charged in the indictment carry potential sentences anywhere from 5 years to life in prison.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever, 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdoses and death in the U.S. are linked to illegally made fentanyl, such as carfentanil, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The illegally-made fentanyl is often mixed with heroin and/or cocaine as a combination product – sometimes unbeknownst to the user – to increase the drug's euphoric effects.

According to previous Enquirer reporting, more than 80 percent of last year's 232 overdose deaths in Butler County were linked to illegal fentanyl and its derivatives.

The Sinaloa cartel is one of the most powerful and influential cartels when it comes to illegal drug trafficking and organized crime in Mexico.

The cartel's notorious leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, was captured in 2016 after escaping from prison in Mexico twice, and was extradited to the United States last year.