An alleged leader of a Mexican drug cartel was caught when he crossed the U.S. border. He and 28 other people were charged with drug crimes and money laundering in St. Louis.
The 39-year-old Genaro Rosas-Vargas was charged by a grand jury in U.S. District Court at the end of May, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. Rosas-Vargas, who goes by different names like “Chiliango,” Javier Ramos-Garcia, 50, Jose Coronel-Coss, 28, and Theodore Sigite, 47, were all named in the indictment as major drug dealers who were part of the plot.
Rosas-Vargas was asked to stay in jail until her hearing. The move also says that he is responsible for setting up the transportation of illegal immigrants from Mexico to the US. When the illegal immigrants got there, they were reportedly told they had to work drug trafficking operations to pay off the $5,000 to $11,000 they owed Rosas-Vargas. According to court records, Rosas-Vargas also talked about sending guns from the US to Mexico so that the drug gangs could use them.
At least 400 grams of fentanyl, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine are being held with the plan to distribute. This is one of the charges in the indictment.
All but Rosas-Vargas were caught at the border. The other 28 suspects were caught in and around St. Louis, Illinois, and other states. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service say that most of the individuals arrested were caught this week.
U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming, who is in charge of the Eastern District in Missouri, said in a statement, “This long-term investigation is a major blow to the drug trafficking cartels that are trying to make money by poisoning the St. Louis community.” “As a result, huge amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and meth were seized, and in just a few hours, a huge number of criminals were arrested seamlessly across multiple states.”
Rosas-Vargas was a drug dealer based in Mexico, according to the indictment. He bought drugs from drug gangs as early as 2017 and sent them to places like St. Louis. In addition to sending drug money to Mexico through electronic money transfers, the indictment says Rosas-Vargas and his partners also used messengers to move large amounts of cash.
A 2017 Jaguar F-Pace, a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, a 2003 Suzuki GSX motorbike, and more than $131,000 in cash are all asked to be given up. Six kilograms of fentanyl, 44 kilograms of cocaine, 75 kilograms of meth, and $250,000 in drug money were found during the probe.
Police in Eastern Missouri are led by Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey. He said in a statement, “Mexico-based drug cartels should never be underestimated for their power and global reach.” “The fact that these drug traffickers bring dangerous drugs into St. Louis shows that their greed is more important to them than the health and safety of our citizens.” The DEA and our allies are set on stopping the cartels’ bad business and their supply line.
The case was being looked into by the FBI, the St. Charles County Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Bridgeton Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Secret Service. In Illinois, the Marion Police Department was also involved.
