COLUMBUS — Eighteen people accused of being involved in conspiracies to receive imported heroin from Mexico and sell it in central Ohio have been indicted on federal charges.
Authorities say 13 of the defendants were arrested Tuesday in central Ohio. Five others are being sought in California.
Federal prosecutors say workers were smuggled from Mexico to Columbus to distribute and repackage heroin, and runners would reportedly sell the drugs to users in public parking lots.
According to the indictment, a group associated with the suspected drug traffickers also was running a fake immigration identification business.
Prosecutors say the defendants wired money to Mexico from storefronts in Columbus on multiple occasions.
According to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman, Diego Ernesto Castaneda-Garcia was allegedly the leader of the trafficking ring, which received imported heroin from Mexico, repackaged it into foil balls called fechas, which the indictment claims roughly translates to “coins” in English, and contain 1/10th of a gram of narcotics, which was in turn sold in public parking lots by “runners” who charged $100 for a group of 15 coins.
Defendants would also arrange for workers to be smuggled into the United States from Mexico through a front business called “Chilango’s Perfumes.”
“Perfumes” was allegedly used as a code word for fake documents by customers who authorities say paid $120 for a “full set,” consisting of a Social Security card and resident alien card.