September 8, 2023 - LOS ANGELES, CA – A Mexican national has been indicted on federal narcotics trafficking charges that allege he oversaw a drug trafficking organization that acquired large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, stored the drugs at a Compton residence, and distributed the contraband locally and across the nation, sometimes using the United States Postal Service, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.
Edgar Valentin Felix Osuna, 25, of Sinaloa, Mexico, who was arrested on August 29 in Barstow while on his way to Las Vegas, was named in a three-count indictment returned Wednesday afternoon by a federal grand jury.
The indictment charges Felix with conspiring to distribute and to possess fentanyl and methamphetamine. He is also charged with substantive counts of distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine.
This case stems from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service that culminated with a search of the Compton residence that led to the seizure of nearly 66 kilograms of fentanyl (which included nearly 27,000 counterfeit pills) and approximately 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine.
“From at least 2019, while in Mexico and while on federal probation [in a narcotics trafficking case in the District of Utah], Felix was facilitating the distribution of large quantities of fentanyl and other drugs that were being stored at a stash house in Compton, California that Felix controlled and was operated by Juan Gonzalez,” according to a criminal complaint previously filed in this case. The indictment alleges that Felix obtained the narcotics, arranged for deliveries to be made to the stash house, and orchestrated further distribution. Gonzalez and others allegedly wired the proceeds from drug sales to Felix.
The conspiracy count in the indictment alleges a series of acts, beginning with a May 5, 2019, distribution of approximately four kilogram of narcotics that were sold on behalf of Felix. The investigation outlined in the complaint alleges that drugs from the stash house were sometimes shipped via the United States Postal Service to addresses in New York, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. Those parcels were mailed by a now-deceased drug courier. After that man’s death, Gonzalez shipped at least one package to an address in Illinois, the complaint alleges.
On February 23, 2022, Felix allegedly directed the distribution of 22 kilograms of methamphetamine. The following day, law enforcement arrested Gonzalez and executed a search warrant at the stash house that resulted in the seizure of the fentanyl, fake pills, and methamphetamine.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty last year to distribution of fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. He was sentenced in January to 15 years in federal prison.
According to the complaint filed last month, Felix continued to distribute narcotics after Gonzalez was arrested, and law enforcement determined that he had returned to the United States by late 2022.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Felix, who is currently being held without bond, is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on September 21.
Each of the three counts in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life.
The investigation into Felix and Gonzalez was conducted by the DEA Los Angeles Field Division and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Brittney Harris and Jenna Williams of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.
This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Source: DOJ Release
Photo credit: DEA
