'I'll get them shipped': California police union director accused of illegally importing opioids

The executive director of a northern California police union is accused of illegally importing opioids, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Monday.

Joanne Segovia, who headed the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, used her home and office computer to order shipments of thousands of illicit pills from vendors in India and China, prosecutors said. She received shipments at her home and in at least one instance mailed a package believed to contain pills to another part of the country, according to the complaint.

Segovia is believed to have imported a number of opioid pills since 2015 from overseas suppliers, according to the complaint, including:

• Zolpidem (commonly known as Ambien)

• Tramadol (an opioid)

• Tapentadol (an opioid)

• Valeryl fentanyl (an opioid)

• Oxycodone hydrochloride (an opioid)

Investigation unfolded last year

Federal agents were led to Segovia late last year during an investigation into a San Francisco Bay Area drug trafficking network that imported opioids from India.

Agents seized a suspect trafficker’s phone and found encrypted messages from early September 2022 that identified “J Segovia” and her home address in San Jose as an apparent recipient of pills, court records show.

During the investigation, international packages sent to Segovia were routinely seized and inspected by Customs and Border Protection officials. Between July 2019 and January of this year, officials seized five shipments containing thousands of zolpidem, tramadol and tapentadol pills, according to the complaint. Records also showed an array of older international shipments of assorted items such as “Wedding Party Favors,” “Shirts Tops,” “Gift Makeup," which investigators believe contained narcotics.

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Segovia had imported drugs since 2015 up until earlier this month, even after federal agents had completed an initial interview with her on Feb.1 as part of the investigation, the complaint said.

Investigators said Segovia lied to agents, stating she knew nothing of the encrypted messages or why her information was found in a suspected trafficker’s phone. They said Segovia also tried in a subsequent interview to frame a housekeeper who she said impersonated her on WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging service, and made the orders

Earlier this month, investigators gained access to Segovia's WhatsApp chats, and found a conversation beginning in January 2020 with an India-based number in which she discussed pill shipments and payment as late as March 8.

Some messages reference Segovia's job working with law enforcement, prosecutors said.

“Im so sorry, im on a business trip because we had 2 officers that got shot,” Segovia wrote in a message on May, 2 2022. “I should be home tomorrow night so ill get them shipped as soon as i can.”

Messages in the chat show photos of her office computer monitor, showing payment confirmation. A business card emblazoned with a police badge is visible in one photo.

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Segovia linked to pill site investigated in overdose death

In April 2021, Segovia sent a photo of a shipping label, with a return address to the SJPOA’s office, for a package bound to an address in North Carolina. That address had been associated with several drug seizures, the complaint said.

Investigators said Segovia’s address was listed on a website advertising the sale of opioids and other medications for “cheap.”

The phone number listed on the website was one of Segovia's contacts.

That number, according to the complaint, was listed in a 2022 police report from Alabama on an overdose death. The victim’s spouse in that report said the victim regularly ordered narcotics by contacting the number.

Furthermore, the complaint said that a package sent to Segovia’s address and seized by CBP on March 13 contained valeryl fentanyl and oxycodone hydrochloride. The package was mailed from China, suggesting she had found a new supplier, according to the complaint.

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Agents found pills at police union's office

Last week, investigators found 73 tapentadol pills and about 80 orange pills also believed to be tapentadol at Segovia's home. They found 283 more tapentadol pills at the SJPOA office, according to the complaint.

Authorities are looking to charge Segovia with unlawfully importing a controlled substance.

An attorney for Segovia was not listed in a federal court database Thursday.

In a statement to USA TODAY, the SJPOA said it placed Segovia on leave and pledged to cooperate fully with the investigation.

“No additional individual at the POA is involved or had prior knowledge of the alleged acts,” the statement said.

Segovia is not a police officer, but she had worked at the association since 2003 and was in charge of day-to-day operations and financial administration in her role as executive director, according to an archived staff page on the association’s website.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: San Jose Police union head accused of illegally importing opioids