United States of America v. Erick Apolinar Romero, Matthew Wright, Julian Islas-Lozada, Zachary Polk, Junior Castillo, Kevin Josue Patino-Romero, Alexander Franco-Lopez, Jesus Alberto Casillas-Martinez, Eduardo Perez-Martinez, Eduardo Abel Torres De Leon, Richard Michael Moore

Indianapolis, Indiana criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendants charged with Drug Trafficking

Eleven Defendants Sentenced to a Total of 123 Years in Federal Prison as Law Enforcement Dismantles Cartel-Linked Drug Trafficking Ring that Used Train Cars in the Midwest to Smuggle Fentanyl and Methamphetamine

According to court documents, between September 2021 and November 2022, the defendants conspired together to distribute a total of nearly 400 pounds of methamphetamine, and over seven kilograms of fentanyl.



Romero supervised the organization, and throughout the course of the conspiracy, he and other members assisted the smuggling of methamphetamine and fentanyl from a Mexican drug cartel to the United States. The methods ranged from delivery by the United States Postal Service, commercial land vehicle smuggling, and the use of trains. Romero, Islas-Lozada, and Patino-Romero then supplied the drugs to De Leon, Moore, Polk, and Wright for redistribution to various communities, including out of state. On multiple occasions, Franco-Lopez, Castillo, Perez-Martinez, and Casillas-Martinez assisted Romero by traveling to Iowa, Nebraska, and other locations in the Midwest to smuggle drugs from various trainyards for later circulation.



In late October 2022, Drug Enforcement Administration agents learned that the traffickers were traveling to Nebraska to locate a rail car loaded with drugs by the Mexican cartel. Romero directed the entire operation, which was unsuccessful due to interception by DEA agents. The agents seized over 68 kilograms of methamphetamine and over seven kilograms of fentanyl hidden in a top-side void of the rail car that had been wielded shut.



On December 13, 2022, DEA agents arrested Islas-Lozada and Castillo in their Indianapolis home and located nine black PVC pipes and plastic bags filled with 56 kilograms of methamphetamine. The PVC pipes bore the stamp "HECHO EN MEXICO” ("Made in Mexico”). Erick Romero, the ringleader of the operation, was also arrested that day at his home in Indianapolis. Officers located 10.7 kilograms of methamphetamine and thirteen firearms in the home.



Additionally, several members of the trafficking ring used firearms to protect themselves and their profits. In total, law enforcement officers seized 20 firearms from the defendants during court-authorized searches at multiple locations in Indianapolis.



"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 Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for 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. Thanks to the hard work and cooperation of the DEA, US Postal Inspection Service, IRS-CI, and many other federal, state, and local agencies, this significant drug trafficking organization is out of business and its members are off our streets.”



"I am incredibly proud of the outstanding work that was done by the DEA, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, and the Metropolitan Drug Task Force in this investigation. Additional collaboration with the DEA Special Operations Division assisted agents with the highest levels of investigative techniques allowing agents to fully unravel a sophisticated international drug trafficking organization linked to the Sinaloa Cartel,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Gannon. "This operation has had a significant impact on Indianapolis, Indiana, and the broader Midwest region, resulting in the seizure of hundred-pound quantities of methamphetamine kilogram quantities of fentanyl, and the removal of numerous firearms from our streets. These actions are a big win for all Hoosiers. I deeply appreciate the strong partnerships that made this critical investigation possible.”



"Every day, Postal Inspectors work to prevent the mail from being misused by criminals, including large scale Drug Trafficking Organizations,” said USPIS Inspector in Charge Rodney Hopkins. I want to acknowledge the contributions of the officers and agents with our partner agencies, whose relentless efforts not only help us protect the mail, but also our communities from the dangers of these organizations. I also want to thank the Assistant United States Attorneys who supported this investigation.”



The Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division investigated this case. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Lawrence Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives provided valuable assistance. The sentences were imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.



U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jayson W. McGrath and Lindsay Karwoski, who prosecuted this case.



This case was part of the Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.



This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.