Seven people were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of operating a drug distribution ring that operated out of Van Nuys and used a fleet of cars and a staff of drivers to make instant deliveries of heroin and cocaine.
The arrests follow the filing of indictments Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court that describe “Manny’s Delivery Service” as a telephone order dope-delivery ring.
While the service sold small quantities to telephone customers, conspirators sold larger quantities as part of a high-volume drug ring, prosecutors allege.
During a two-month period that began in late August, members of the ring obtained multi-kilogram quantities of heroin and moved hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, according to secretly recorded conversations outlined in the indictment. Bulk narcotics were stored in a stash house, and smaller quantities of drugs were packaged and dispatched to customers from a Van Nuys facility, according to court papers.
Law enforcement authorities Wednesday allegedly seized about 14 pounds of heroin, more than a pound of cocaine and a significant amount of cash, federal prosecutors said.
Those arrested are:
— Sigifredo Gurrola Barrientos, 40, of Sylmar, the alleged manager of the drug trafficking operation who oversaw the movement of narcotics and the operation’s fleet of delivery vehicles;
— Adrian Munoz-Garcia, 24, of Buena Park, who is described in the indictment as Barrientos’ right-hand man;
— Eduardo Daniel Ramirez-Hernandez, 26, of Van Nuys, who also allegedly took customers’ orders and arranged for deliveries;
— a currently unidentified man known only as “Gangster,” who allegedly also worked as a dispatcher;
— Jacqueline De La Rosa, 24, of Pacoima, who allegedly purchased wholesale quantities of narcotics and stored them at her residence, as well as transported large sums of narcotics proceeds;
— aman charged in the indictment under the moniker “Lineas” who was identified as Gerardo Aguilar-Castillo, 27, of Orange; and
— Christopher Daniel Rumsey, 31, of Newbury Park, who allegedly distributed heroin in Ventura County.
The defendants are expected to be arraigned Thursday in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.
–City News Service