DETROIT – A multimillion dollar international drug trafficking and money laundering organization was busted by ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit and now the special agents are looking for a fugitive.
The ring members, Merced Alvarado, Jonathan Lee Galvan, Raymundo Aguilar Perea, Carlos Misael Ramirez-Zuniga and Elva Medrano were all indicted, but agents are still looking for Perea so he can go through the court system for his alleged role in the organization.
According to ICE HSI, the drug trafficking ring has been operating since the early 2000s. They were based in Lansing, Michigan and distributed to seven other states, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Florida and Texas.
"It was a cocaine smuggling organization. The drugs are smuggled through Texas and they're traveled up to Michigan," said Bruno Genrich, the group supervisor for Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit.
The ICE HSI investigation started in 2014 when they were contacted by agents in Columbus, Ohio about the ring.
"This is a really unique investigation for us where we were able to identify all the components of this organization and arrest the smuggler down in southern Texas, the distribution organization up in Michigan and the couriers who were bringing the money back and forth," said Genrich.
Some of the couriers worked for a Mexican organization.
"They were distributing the narcotics, collecting the proceeds, giving them to couriers from southern Texas and then the couriers were working for a Mexican organization," Genrich said.
The investigating agency kept surveillance on the organization's drug house in Lansing. Elva Medrano and William Marti Camacho, also known as "Mesa," are mother and son, and were arrested in Lansing where they are from.
The organization hid drugs and money in hollowed out coolers as part of their scheme.
"If they get pulled over by police, they don't see anything. Then when they get up here, they remove the drugs from the coolers and put the money they collect from the sales of drugs back into the cooler and take it back down, ultimately going to Mexico," said Genrich.
ICE HSI said they believe Perea may be in Mexico, but has friends in the Detroit-area so they are hoping someone will come forward with information leading to his arrest.
Merced Alvarado was sentenced to just over 10 years in federal prison. Jonathan Galvan was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Elva Medrano was sentenced to three years in federal prison, and Carlos Misael Ramirez Zuniga was sentenced to just over five years Thursday.
Zuniga and Alvarado are not United States citizens so after they serve their time in federal prison, they will be deported.