Three arrested in Abilene after alleged involvement in federal narcotics case
Three men were arrested and charged in Abilene in connection with their involvement in a months-long narcotics case, according to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Raybould.
Inez Jonathan Leal, 28, and Joseph Santos Carillo, 51, of Abilene, and Luis Arturo Carrillo Jr., 28, of California, were all charged by federal complaint on June 24, according to the U.S. district attorney’s office. They were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
“This prosecution dismantled a drug trafficking conspiracy impacting Abilene and its surrounding areas. Three people, working in concert, to move poison through North Texas are now facing justice, and this office will continue to utilize every tool to disrupt drug networks that harm our communities and destroy families,” Raybould said.
The criminal complaint showed that law enforcement and agents performed a joint investigation into the “narcotics trafficking” of Leal, Joseph Carillo and Luiz Carrillo, according to the U.S. district attorney’s office.
When officers got a residential search warrant June 24, they seized approximately 8 kilograms of powder cocaine, 30 kilograms of methamphetamine, approximately 17,670 alprazolam pills (labeled as Farmapram), 93 bottles of cough syrup containing codeine ( labeled as Kodel), approximately 75 pounds of marijuana and THC products, and multiple firearms.
“Cocaine, methamphetamine, codeine, and counterfeit pills flooding North Texas represent a direct threat to the safety of our communities, and DEA will not stand by while traffickers profit from that danger,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Joseph B. Tucker. “Alongside our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, the DEA is committed to dismantling these networks and holding every individual involved fully accountable. This case reflects the strength of that partnership and our shared resolve to keep these poisons off our streets.”
The defendants remain in custody and if convicted they are looking at “a statutory maximum penalty of up to life in federal prison,” according to the U.S. district attorney’s office.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Fort Worth District Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Abilene Police Department.
This is an ongoing investigation and no one has been convicted as of now, according to the U.S. district attorney’s office.
