WICHITA, KAN. – A Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) led operation yielded the dismantling of a drug trafficking ring in Kansas operated on behalf of a Mexican drug cartel. Ringleader, Euriel Talavera, 32, of Wichita, Kansas, and 14 other defendants pleaded guilty to criminal charges following a multi-agency investigation which included federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court documents, in December 2022, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Wichita Police Department began investigating a drug trafficking ring in Wichita. Investigators learned that the Sinaloa Cartel and cartel associates controlled the operation that distributed fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Every few weeks, the traffickers traveled from Wichita to Phoenix, Arizona, or other locations to pick up large quantities of drugs and then returned to Wichita for distribution. Talavera stayed in regular contact with cartel members in Mexico.
Talavera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced 228 months in prison.
“HSTF’s mission is to save lives by arresting transnational drug dealers and confiscating the poison they peddle before it reaches our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas. “When investigators learned about an arrangement to bring 160,000 counterfeit Percocet pills laced with fentanyl to Wichita for distribution, law enforcement set up surveillance, observed the exchange, and after a traffic stop, intercepted the drugs.”
“This is another example of how the HSTF model is improving the safety of our communities by detecting, disrupting, and dismantling drug trafficking organizations,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Ormerod of the FBI's Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to identify and hold accountable any organization or individual looking to perpetuate the flow of drugs into Kansas.”
“Cartels like Sinaloa are not just trafficking drugs, they are trafficking death into our communities,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Rick Sabatini of HSI Kansas City. “This operation proves what happens when HSI and our HSTF partners bring relentless pressure to bear: we dismantle the networks pushing fentanyl and methamphetamine into Kansas, seize their profits, and put their people in prison. If you work for a cartel, we will find you, we will build the case, and we will bring the full weight of federal law enforcement to your doorstep.”
Fourteen other defendants have pleaded guilty to crimes related to the case:
- Jonathan Gutierrez-Diaz, 30, an illegal alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced 136 months in prison.
- Joe Louis Washington, 33, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
- Aron Garcia-Campa, 36, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
- Alexis Ortega-Ramos, 29, an illegal alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 72 months in prison.
- Shelan D. Peters, 24, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
- Jermel L. Goines, 44, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
- Breili Osmani Sermeno-Hernandez, 42, an illegal alien from Guatemala, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
- Heiu Kevin Nguyen, 33, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
- Katia Nevarez, 29, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison.
- Richard Oral Mathie, 60, of Elmendorf, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl but absconded before sentencing.
Santiago Rodriguez, 25, Angel Garcia, 26, Dominitrix M. Jones, 33, Alonso Pacheco-Tabullo, 23, all of Wichita, pleaded guilty to crimes related to this case and were sentenced to probation.
The FBI, HSI, DEA, Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP), and the Wichita Police Department investigated the case.
This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Kansas City comprises agents and officers from FBI; HSI; DEA; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and IRS-Criminal Investigation, with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas.