Josh Mitchell photo/RMT News
Gateway Strikeforce case also brings money laundering, gun charges
MISSOURI — Nearly 30 people have been federally indicted in St. Louis in a drug distribution conspiracy case involving fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, U.S. drug enforcement officials say.
One of the suspects, Genaro Rosas-Vargas, who was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border, allegedly brokered deals for Mexican drug cartels.
Most of the suspects were arrested by DEA agents and U.S. Marshals this week in the St. Louis area, Illinois and other states.
Some of the defendants, including Rosas-Vargas, are also accused of engaging in a money laundering conspiracy and some are charged with gun crimes.
U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming says the large number of arrests over multiple states in just a few days was handled masterfully by authorities.
Drug traffickers who try to poison the St. Louis community for profit were dealt a “significant blow” through the St. Louis Gateway Strike Force’s “long-term investigation,” Fleming added.
The indictment accuses Rosas-Vargas of brokering deliveries of fentanyl, meth and cocaine to the St. Louis area and other places since 2017.
Some of the money made off the drug sales were wired to Mexico, and couriers transported “bulk” amounts of cash, a DEA news release this week states.
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