A total of 47 individuals have been charged in a massive drug trafficking network in the Imperial Valley.

A coordinated operation was conducted Wednesday morning with more than 400 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers participating. Twenty-five search warrants were executed in Imperial County, San Diego, Fresno, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Salem, Oregon. As of Wednesday afternoon, 36 defendants were in custody including a U. S. Border patrol agent. Eleven others remain fugitives. The coordinated operation was started with a routine traffic stop in Brawley in 2021. 

According to U. S. Attorney Tara McGrath, " This operation tore apart a drug trafficking network responsible for supplying dealers in communities across the region." According to the indictments and search warrants, the defendants belonged to various trafficking organizations that were part of an extensive network supplying all of Imperial County and beyond with dangerous drugs. The Imperial Valley-based network was linked to the Sinaloa carter fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution network. 

According to court records, on June 30, 2021, agents seized two pounds of methamphetamine and a cache of ghost guns and ammunition. Wiretap intercepts showed that defendant Cory Gershan, 36, of Jacumba, supplied other members of the organization with ghost guns in exchange for methamphetamine. The investigation also revealed that assault rifles seized were destined for the organizations source of drugs in Mexico. During the investigation, authorities seized more than 4 kilograms of fentanyl, which amounts to about 2 million doses, over 714 pounds of methamphetamine as well as significant quantities of cocaine and heroin. A total of 52 firearms were confiscated. 

U.S. Border patrol agent Alexander Grindley, 53, of Brawley was among those arrested. He has been charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.