Victorville man named among defendants charged in nationwide fentanyl distribution network

Staff Report
·1 min read
1

A Victorville man was identified as one of the many suspects in a nationwide drug trafficking ring, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Giovani Alejandro Briones, 29, of Victorville, is suspected of conspiracy to distribute roughly 400 grams of fentanyl and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

DEA agents believe the suspects are responsible for bringing thousands of fake Oxycodone (M30) pills from California to Washington, D.C.

The investigation started in Washington, D.C., after a woman took a pill and died, said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. The victim was later identified as Diamond Lynch.

The "vast" drug trafficking ring is believed to have started operating in August 2020. Drugs were smuggled across the District of Columbia, Virginia, California, Maryland, and Tennessee, according to court records.

In addition to the arrests, investigators also seized more than a million fentanyl pills, 15 pounds of fentanyl powder, and 30 firearms.

DEA agents will continue to dismantle the global fentanyl supply chain to "bring justice for the hundreds of thousands of American lives lost to fentanyl,” Milgram added.

The defendants charged and arrested include:

  • Trayveon James Johnson

  • Karon Olufemi Blalock

  • Ronte Ricardo Greene

  • Melvin Edward Allen, Jr.

  • Darius Quincy Hodges,

  • Lamin Sesay,

  • Paul Alejandro Felix

  • Omar Arana

  • Edgar Balderas, Jr.

  • Raul Pacheco Ramirez

  • Giovani Alejandro Briones

“Our office is working tirelessly to hold those who peddle poison in our community criminally accountable," U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said. “One of the surest ways to find yourself the subject of a federal investigation is to be part of a trafficking network like these alleged defendants.”

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victorville man a defendant charged in fentanyl distribution network