KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The owner of three money-wiring operations in the Kansas City metropolitan area has played a role in a $4.7 million conspiracy to distribute and utilize over 335 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 22 kilograms of heroin. One of five new defendants indicted. Wire transfers to send drug trafficking proceeds to Mexico.
Ana Lilia Leal-Martinez, 46, a Mexican citizen from Overland Park, Kansas; Ana Paola Banda, 50, and Maria de Lourdes Carbajal, 53, both Mexican citizens from Shawnee, Kansas; Javier A. Alvarez, 24, of Phoenix, Arizona, and John A. Keillor, 53, of Kansas City, Missouri, were indicted on Tuesday in 112 indictments sealed by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri. rice field. ,September 20.
This new indictment replaces the 91 indictments that were remanded on June 1, 2022. It retains all of the original 39 defendants and charges and includes 5 additional defendants and 21 additional counts of action. An alternate indictment was unsealed and made public today following the arrest and initial appearance of additional defendants.
Leal-Martinez, Banda, Carbajal, Alvarez and Caylor, along with all of the original defendants, are charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from February 28, 2020 to June 1, 2022.
In addition to the drug trafficking conspiracy, Leal-Martinez, Banda, and Carbajal, each of whom owns a money wiring business, have been charged with participating in a money laundering conspiracy related to the transportation or transfer of drug trafficking conspiracy proceeds. indicted. Mexico, Michoacán. Leal-Martinez is the owner of Imagen Leal at 407 S. Parker in Olathe, Kansas. Banda is the owner of La Bendicion 2 at 2701 S. 47th St. in Kansas City, Kansas. Carbajal is the owner of Azteca. Imports is located at 11226 W. 75th St. in Overland Park, Kansas.
Leal-Martinez, Banda, and Carbajal remain in federal custody pending detention hearings. The government’s detention motion allows drug traffickers, who generate millions of dollars in revenue, to effectively allow foreign drug suppliers to receive proceeds from controlled substances sold here in the United States without individuals. The money sent back to Michoacán, Mexico is further fueling the drug trade and accompanying violence in communities in the United States and Mexico. Banda, Carvajal and Leal Martinez are Mexican citizens and are staying in the United States illegally, the detention movement said, and are therefore at risk of flight.
In the allegation of detention, the government said investigators identified the sender of the alias as directed by another member of the drug trafficking ring through these companies in January, February, May and June 2022. It said it found a number of wire transfers sent under the name. $138,914. Investigators believe this represents a small fraction of the actual drug proceeds remitted by the organization.
On June 22, 2022, federal agents for the IRS-Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant for evidence of money laundering at La Bendicion 2 and Azteca Imports. Imagen Leal had previously served a search warrant.
As with the original indictment, the new indictment lists 41 Mexican citizens, Jose Jesus Sanchez Mendez, also known as “Michoacano,” Jesus Morales García, also known as “Don Jesus,” 43, and Luis Eduardo Pineda Zarao, 26. People, Juan Bernardo Galeana Aguilar, 45, Balthazar Flores Norzagaray aka “Sinaloa” 50, Rafael Pérez Esquivel, 51, Jose Eliasar Valle Rivera, 39, Uziel Morales Baltazar, 31 , Eric Fernando Martinez Contreras, also known as ‘Alex’, 34; Joel Enrique Roman, also known as ‘Perón’, 44; Miguel Angel Juárez Lopez, also known as ‘Chapo’, 47; Jonathan Zuniga Villafuerte, 30. Sergio Armando Valencia Ochoa, 36, Juan Humberto Lemus-Mejia, 24, Yuliana Del Carmen Perez Ciprian, 38, Trinidad Torres-Meza, 41, Miriam Veronica Bustos-Martinez, 37, Liliana Valencia-Mendoza, 40 Age, address unknown. Flor Gonzalez-Celestine, 52, from Kansas City, Missouri. Jose Bernabe Zamora Cardenas, also known as “Muffa,” Kansas City, Kansas City, age 52.
As with the original indictment, the new indictment also names Tina Marie Cruces, 36, Lisbeth Espino, 24, Frank Anthony Valdivia, 43, Melissa A. Bates, 55, and Monica L. McCabin, 39) are all charged in Kansas City, Missouri. Santiago Raul Mendieta-Sanchez, 41, Honduran citizen of Kansas City, Missouri; Jennifer S. Lawson, 35, from Buckner, Missouri; Felton Stone Jr. (age 45), Donald R. Moses (aka “Moe”) age 51, Felipe Antonio Alcala (age 30), Anthony C. Hughes (age 37), Maria Nancy Valdes (age 32 years old), Ignacio Barragán Vazquez (32 years old), Yvonne Gassman (Yvonne Gassman) Carpio, also known as “Morena”, 39 years old, Kongmink Ha 41 years old, address unknown. Also known as “Tono” he is 29-year-old Marco Antonio Salazar and his 28-year-old Nelson Alilio Garciaguerra’s address is unknown. Arantxa Sabrina Valderrama Barros, also known as “Sabri,” age 25, Venezuelan citizen, address unknown. Daniel Felipe Suarez Reinoso, age 30, Colombian citizen, has an unknown address.
Sánchez-Mendes, Zamora-Cardenas, Valencia-Ochoa, Valencia-Mendoza and Suarez-Reinoso, who were charged with money laundering conspiracy in the original indictment, are likewise indicted in the new indictment.
Sánchez Mendes and Morales Garcia are also charged with involvement in an ongoing criminal enterprise related to drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies, as well as other crimes alleged in the indictment. The indictment alleges that Sánchez-Mendes and Morales-Garcia held positions of organizer, supervisor, or manager of an ongoing criminal enterprise, from which they derived substantial income.
The federal indictment charges distribution of heroin and fentanyl, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and heroin for the purpose of distribution, possession of firearms to further drug trafficking crimes, illegal alien possessing firearms, and possession of firearms. Use of mobile phones to facilitate felony, money laundering, illegal immigrant re-entry and drug trafficking crimes.
The indictment also includes a forfeiture motion requiring the defendants to forfeit $4,718,700 to the government. The indictment alleges that the conspiracy involved the distribution of over 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine (average retail price of $300 per ounce) and over 22.1 kilograms of heroin (average retail price of $1,500 per ounce). There is
In the forfeiture motion, defendants accuse the government of $277,440 seized by law enforcement officers from a vehicle driven by Suarez-Reinoso and $277,440 seized by law enforcement officers while executing search warrants at four locations in Kansas City, Missouri. $114,863 must also be forfeited. residence.
The charges contained in this indictment are mere accusations, not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the indictment must be presented to a federal trial jury, which has the duty to determine guilt or innocence.
The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Assistant Attorneys Byron H. Black, Patrick C. Edwards, and Mary-Kate Butterfield. Investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Drug Enforcement Administration, Jackson County Drug Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, Kansas City. Kansas State Police, Missouri Highway Patrol, Kansas Highway Patrol, Independence, Missouri State Police, Minnesota Criminal Arrest Bureau, Minnesota Patrol, Olmsted County, Minnesota, Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI, Missouri Clay County, Sheriff’s Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Service, Federal Marshals Service.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF uses a prosecution-led, intelligence-led, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
KC Metro Strike Force
The indictment was filed as part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Co-Deployed Strike Force initiative. same place. This co-located model allows agents from different agencies to work together in intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a range of priority targets and their associated illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led, co-located strike forces are taking advantage of the synergies created through the long-term relationships that agents, analysts, and prosecutors can build by staying together over time, helping organizations It epitomizes the model that has proven to be most effective in combating standardized crime. crime. The primary mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and prevent the most serious drug trafficking, transnational criminal, and money laundering organizations that pose a serious threat to the public safety, economy, or national security of the United States. is to dismantle.
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