Feds bust drug ring spanning from CSRA to Caribbean

STATESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A newly unsealed federal indictment charges nearly three dozen defendants with involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy spanning the reached all the way to the Caribbean.

Operation Carpet Ride, investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces identified drug trafficking operations in Richmond, Burke, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Evans, Liberty, Richmond and Tattnall counties and elsewhere from as early as January 2016.

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As described in the 49-count indictment, the conspiracy is alleged to have imported large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs for distribution.

Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. 28 grams or more of crack cocaine. hydrocodone. oxycodone. and marijuana. Other individual charges in the indictment include drug possession and distribution, maintenance of a drug-involved premises, and illegal firearms possession and use.

Those named in the indictment include:

Daniel “Dabby Hill” Morales-Jimenez, 45, of Puerto Rico.
Pedro “Chipo” Castro-Vasquez, 50, of Puerto Rico.
Sonic Torres-Garcia, 24, of Kissimmee, Fla.
Kristine Albright-Ramos, 35, of Puerto Rico.
Alexys Rivera-Cuevas, 28, of Gainesville, Fla.
Luis Diaz-Albright, 20, of Puerto Rico.
Paola Morales Rosario, 24, of Kissimmee, Fla.
Clarence “Cash” Bess, 41, of Jacksonville, Fla.
Laverne Pullins Jr., 70, of Jacksonville, Fla.
Demarr Clayton Lee, 52, of Miami, Fla.
Tony Deshawn Slater, 51, of Claxton, Ga.
Domanek Laquan Mincey, 44, of Glennville, Ga.
Anthony “Pookie” Craig Johnson, 56, of Claxton, Ga.
Andre Delerrain Anderson, 48, of Claxton, Ga.
Phillip Dwayne Walden, 45, of Statesboro, Ga.
Corey Ontavious Hendrix, 44, of Claxton, Ga.
Enrique Humbra Denson Sr., 49, of Statesboro, Ga.
Enrique Humbra Denson Jr., 29, of Reidsville, Ga.
Kevin Derrell Ponder, 45, of Claxton, Ga.
Terran Harvel Tigner, 35, of Glennville, Ga.
Troy Sinclair Tigner, 35, of Glennville, Ga.
Nicholas Rashon Fillmore, 42, of Hinesville, Ga.
Marquese Shavel Palmer, 30, of Claxton, Ga.
Michael Lynn Jinks, 47, of Glennville, Ga.
Tony Anthony Warren, 38, of Claxton, Ga.
Lance Boyette Ford, 39, of Glennville, Ga.
Heather Elaine Barbee, 43, of Sylvania, Ga.
Sean Christopher Brown, 43, of Savannah.
Jarvis Charles Hagan, 31, of Claxton, Ga.
Kenneth Bacon Hall, 51, of Glennville, Ga.
Caleb Earl Riggs, 37, of Claxton, Ga. and,
Gerald Walter Dasher, 52, of Glennville, Ga.

“The painstaking investigation in Operation Carpet Ride spans nearly six years and thousands of miles as it tracked illegal drugs flowing into the United States to the Southern District of Georgia and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney David Estes. “Our law enforcement partners have done outstanding work in identifying, investigating and disrupting this drug trafficking organization.”