COLUMBUS – A half dozen men, including two from Columbus, are behind bars after authorities seized nearly $4 million in drugs and cash while breaking up a drug ring that was smuggling cocaine from Mexico in tractor-trailers.
6 Arrests & Seizure of $3.4 Million in Cocaine (75lbs)-1/2 Million in Cash:@OhioAG & LE partners arrested:
•Davion Craig, 22, NC
•Antwonne Hunter, 49, Columbus
•Toinairis Hunter, 27, Columbus
•Josue Montelongo-Rangel, 34, TX
•Juan Vela Jr., 40, TX
•Luis Villareal, 28, TX pic.twitter.com/qmnEBwiqBL— Columbus Division of Police (@ColumbusPolice) June 18, 2018
The Central Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission/High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force Monday announced the arrests of six men – two from Columbus, three from Texas and one from North Carolina — following the seizure of approximately 75 pounds of cocaine.
Columbus and Gahanna police and other elements of the commission The Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, made the arrests after investigators intercepted a semi-truck in Columbus and served a search warrant on an E. Fifth Street warehouse where an estimated $3.4 million worth of cocaine was found and authorities also seized more than $500,000 in cash, two stolen firearms, and multiple vehicles, according to a release from the office Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
Antwonne Hunter, 49, and Toinairis Hunter, 27, both of Columbus; Josue Montelongo-Rangel, 34, of Mission, Texas; Juan Vela Jr., 40, of Donna, Texas; Luis Villareal, 28, of McAllen, Texas, and Davion Craig, 22, of Charlotte, N.C. were in custody at the Franklin County Jail.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Program, Department of Homeland Security, and other state and federal agencies are also members of the task force.