According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, federal law enforcement agencies have targeted a Mexico-based drug trafficking and money laundering ring operating within the Palmetto State since at least 2011.
The network has allegedly trafficked hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine through a network across South Carolina's Lowcountry, Pee Dee, Grand Strand, and Midlands regions.
"This Homeland Security Task Force investigation has an impact on every region of our state, and beyond," said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling Tuesday. “For every criminal charged, even more law enforcement agents and officers were working to put a stop to the illegal drug trafficking and money laundering targeting our communities."
During the course of a multi-agency operation, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and partner agencies seized:
- 346 kilograms of fentanyl
- 70 kilograms of cocaine
- 23 kilograms of methamphetamine
- 34 pounds of marijuana
- 43 firearms
- More than $2.8 million in cash
- 15 luxury vehicles
- 17 properties across South Carolina and Georgia, valued at $4 million
To date, six defendants have entered guilty pleas. Investigators said that the criminal enterprise's reach extended into institutional settings, with members active within both the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
According to the Department of Justice, the enforcement action was carried out under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative, which aims to dismantle transnational criminal cartels and human and drug smuggling rings.
The investigation involved coordinated efforts from a multitude of federal, state, and local agencies, including the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI’s Columbia Field Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the State Transport Police, and numerous county sheriff's offices and municipal police departments spanning Aiken, Barnwell, Charleston, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Cheraw, Chesterfield, Florence, Gaston, Georgetown, Hartsville, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Orangeburg, Richland, and Surfside Beach.
The DOJ said that Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike O’Mara and Cole Shannon for the District of South Carolina are prosecuting the case.