INDIANAPOLIS — Eleven people who used train cars and the U.S. Postal Service to smuggle meth and fentanyl from drug cartels in Mexico throughout the Midwest have been sentenced to decades in prison, federal prosecutors announced this week.
Many of the sentenced individuals lived and worked in the Indianapolis area.
The drug ring operated between September 2021 and November 2022, according to court documents. During that time, the eleven people worked together to distribute nearly 400 pounds of methamphetamine, and over seven kilograms of fentanyl.
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The ring was busted in October 2022 when agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency learned the traffickers were traveling to Nebraska to locate a rail car loaded with drugs by the Mexican cartel.
Erick Romero, 35, who received a 19-year prison sentence, led the ring, prosecutors said. He was arrested on Dec. 13 at his home in Indianapolis.
Officers located 10.7 kilograms of methamphetamine and thirteen firearms in the home, prosecutors said.
Julian Islas-Lozada, 37, and Junior Castillo, 36, were arrested the same day. Police uncovered nine black PVC pipes and plastic bags filled with 56 kilograms of methamphetamine.
The pipe had a “HECHO EN MEXICO” (“Made in Mexico”) stamp on the outside.
In total, police seized 20 firearms from several homes during searches in and around Indianapolis.
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“International cartels have flooded our communities with poisons, using planes, trains, automobiles, and even the U.S. Mail to smuggle fentanyl and meth into our communities right here in Indiana for local distribution,” said United States Attorney Zachary A. Myers, who leads the Southern District of Indiana. “Every link in this chain fuels the death and misery touching far too many of our families—and must be dismantled.
The list of convicted and sentenced individuals is found below:
|
Suspect |
Charge(s) |
Prison Sentence |
|
Erick Apolinar Romero, 35 |
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances Distribution of Methamphetamine Attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances |
19 years 5 years supervised release |
|
Matthew Wright, 47 Palestine, Illinois |
Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine |
19 years 5 years supervised release |
|
Julian Islas-Lozada, 37 |
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances Distribution of Methamphetamine Unlawful use of a communication facility |
19 years 5 years supervised release |
|
Zachary Polk, 46 Vincennes, Indiana |
Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine |
188 months (15.7 years) 5 years supervised release |
|
Junior Castillo, 36 |
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances Attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances Unlawful use of a communication facility |
170 months (14.1 years) 5 years supervised release |
|
Kevin Josue Patino-Romero, 21 |
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances Distribution of Methamphetamine |
140 months (11.7 years) 5 years supervised release |
|
Alexander Franco-Lopez, 21 |
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances Attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances |
80 months (6.7 years) 3 years supervised release |
|
Jesus Alberto Casillas-Martinez, 28 |
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances Attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances |
65 months (5.4 years) 3 years supervised release |
|
Eduardo Perez-Martinez, 30 |
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. |
65 months (5.4 years) 3 years supervised release |
|
Eduardo Abel Torres De Leon, 31 |
Unlawful use of a communication facility |
4 years 1 year supervised release |
|
Richard Michael Moore, 56 |
Unlawful use of a communication facility |
3 years 1 year supervised release |
