COLUMBUS, Ohio - Law enforcement officials seized more than 73 pounds of cocaine, 32 pounds of heroin, eight pounds of methamphetamine, nine firearms and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash this week in relation to federal charges pending against three Columbus men.
Lucio Manuel Munoz, 28, Maximus Alberto Dominguez, 19, and Rene Bernal Gaytan, 22, were charged by federal criminal complaint and arrested on Feb. 3.
The three are charged with conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.
According to court documents, the defendants were conducting illicit narcotics operations from the Red Roof Inn on South State Street in Westerville and from a residence on Chesford Road in Columbus.
Law enforcement officials were conducting surveillance on both locations on Feb. 2 and subsequently stopped Dominguez for a traffic stop on Interstate 270 South. A narcotics K9 alerted to the presence of drugs and officers discovered a kilogram-sized bundle of cocaine in the BMW Dominguez was driving.
It is alleged that Munoz attempted to flee the residence on Chesford Road later that evening with bulk amounts of narcotics in his vehicle. A traffic stop was initiated on Munoz, but he allegedly failed to yield. A vehicle pursuit was initiated and ended in a foot pursuit. Munoz was apprehended and officers secured the Jeep he was driving.
Authorities discovered 30 kilograms of cocaine and four kilograms of methamphetamine in the Jeep. They seized nine firearms and bulk amounts of cash from a subsequent search of the residence.
An affidavit details that agents also found multiple additional kilograms of narcotics with Gaytan in a room at the Red Roof Inn. They also discovered a storage locker in Columbus where a duffel bag of vacuum-sealed bulk currency was located.
Each of the three defendants remains in custody.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Vance Callender, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Richard S. Fambro; Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler and Columbus Police Interim Chief Michael Woods announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Kelly A. Norris is representing the United States in this case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
