Milwaukee Journal Sentinel // John Diedrich
Federal agents and local police moved to arrest 26 people in Milwaukee and elsewhere early Wednesday as part of a sprawling investigation into kilograms of cocaine being sent from Puerto Rico and to Milwaukee.
The drug dealers resorted to a simple means of transport: they mailed the drugs through the U.S. Postal Service, according to a 227-page criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday morning.
Defendants began appearing at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee Wednesday morning before Magistrate Judge William Callahan. They face the potential of life in prison if convicted. Federal prosecutors asked that the defendants be temporarily detained to allow pretrial services to evaluate their case. Callahan agreed.
Hearings on their detention are scheduled for next week.
The first two to appear before Callahan, Wilberto Santiago-Martinez and Julio Seda-Martinez, needed a translator in court. Neither made a statement. Both will receive court-appointed attorneys.
A press conference on the case is planned for Thursday at 9 a.m. at the federal courthouse. U.S. Attorney Matt Krueger, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul Maxwell are expected to speak.
The complaint was written by DEA task force officer Michael Saddy, also a detective with the New Berlin Police Department,
According to the criminal complaint:
The investigation was started in September 2018 by agents with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area group, which investigates narcotics cases.
Around that time, the U.S. Postal Service intercepted a parcel containing three kilograms, or more than six pounds, of cocaine from Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory with U.S. Post Offices there.
The investigation also revealed the group was shipping heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic drug stronger than heroin.
The drug-dealing organization was shipping the drugs to Milwaukee and other U.S. cities. The investigation into the scope of the organization continues.
The drugs arrived through the Post Office in the Milwaukee and then to various houses on Milwaukee’s South Side.
The defendants, several of whom are from Puerto Rico and have family there, would get the cocaine and other drugs “fronted” to them and then could ship the money back to Puerto Rico.
In June, federal agents received permission to wiretap phones being used by the suspected dealers.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Original Publication: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel // John Diedrich
Federal agents and local police moved to arrest 26 people in Milwaukee and elsewhere early Wednesday as part of a sprawling investigation into kilograms of cocaine being sent from Puerto Rico and to Milwaukee.
The drug dealers resorted to a simple means of transport: they mailed the drugs through the U.S. Postal Service, according to a 227-page criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday morning.
Defendants began appearing at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee Wednesday morning before Magistrate Judge William Callahan. They face the potential of life in prison if convicted. Federal prosecutors asked that the defendants be temporarily detained to allow pretrial services to evaluate their case. Callahan agreed.
Hearings on their detention are scheduled for next week.
The first two to appear before Callahan, Wilberto Santiago-Martinez and Julio Seda-Martinez, needed a translator in court. Neither made a statement. Both will receive court-appointed attorneys.
A press conference on the case is planned for Thursday at 9 a.m. at the federal courthouse. U.S. Attorney Matt Krueger, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul Maxwell are expected to speak.
The complaint was written by DEA task force officer Michael Saddy, also a detective with the New Berlin Police Department,
According to the criminal complaint:
The investigation was started in September 2018 by agents with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area group, which investigates narcotics cases.
Around that time, the U.S. Postal Service intercepted a parcel containing three kilograms, or more than six pounds, of cocaine from Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory with U.S. Post Offices there.
The investigation also revealed the group was shipping heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic drug stronger than heroin.
The drug-dealing organization was shipping the drugs to Milwaukee and other U.S. cities. The investigation into the scope of the organization continues.
The drugs arrived through the Post Office in the Milwaukee and then to various houses on Milwaukee’s South Side.
The defendants, several of whom are from Puerto Rico and have family there, would get the cocaine and other drugs “fronted” to them and then could ship the money back to Puerto Rico.
In June, federal agents received permission to wiretap phones being used by the suspected dealers.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Original Publication: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/15/kilos-cocaine-sent-puerto-rico-milwaukee-through-mail/4478116002/
