Seven Members of Dunwoody-Based Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization Sentenced

ATLANTA – Seven defendants have been sentenced for their roles in distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly drugs within and outside the metro-Atlanta area. Karla Lopez-Delgado, the ringleader, was also convicted of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on a premises where a minor resided.                                                                                                                                      

“This case underscores our Office’s unwavering commitment to dismantle drug trafficking networks that threaten our communities with deadly substances,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “And the convictions that our Office and our federal and local partners achieved in this case further amplify our collective determination to relentlessly pursue and prosecute those who profit by distributing the drugs that harm our citizens. I commend the exceptional work of our law enforcement partners in bringing these defendants to justice.”

“Drug dealers who poison our communities will be held accountable. These sentences serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can profit off addiction — we will find you, and you will be prosecuted,” said Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI and our partners remain relentless in our fight to shut down drug operations and protect the safety of our streets.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges, and other information presented in court: Beginning in 2022, HSI investigated a drug trafficking operation led by Karla Lopez-Delgado. She ran the organization with the assistance of Jonathon Torres-Aguirre, who, at the time, was incarcerated at Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Georgia. During the investigation, HSI agents seized methamphetamine and fentanyl from Lopez-Delgado’s customers on seven occasions.

When agents executed a search warrant at Lopez-Delgado’s Dunwoody apartment—a two-bedroom apartment she shared with her four-year-old daughter—they found approximately 4.5 kilograms of fentanyl, over 80 kilograms of methamphetamine, almost 20 kilograms of cocaine, and a handgun. Agents also found several cell phones with hundreds of conversations with Torres-Aguirre about their drug trafficking activities across the state of Georgia and into Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

The following defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg:

• Karla Lopez-Delgado was sentenced to 19 years, eight months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after she pleaded guilty.
• Jonathon Torres-Aguirre was sentenced to 12 years, seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty.
• Marco Camacho-Escobar was sentenced to 10 years, one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty.
• Issac Duran-Gomez was sentenced to three years, seven months in prison,  followed by three years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty.
• Carlos Santiago was sentenced to five years, three months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty.
• Bennie Shelton was sentenced to three years, ten months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty.
• Kiara Jones was sentenced to one year of home detention, followed by three years of supervised release, after she pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with invaluable assistance provided by U.S. Secret Service, the United States Marshals Service, Brookhaven Police Department, Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, Cobb County Police Department, and Henry County Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Matthew R. LaGrone, and former Assistant United States Attorney Tyler Mann, prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to eliminate the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (Atlanta Strike Force) is to eliminate transnational organized crime syndicates and major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Atlanta Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets, Regional Priority Organization Targets, and their associates.  The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS, as well as numerous state and local agencies; and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.