11 Indicted for Drug Trafficking

11 indicted on drug charges

By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
4/1/2008

They are accused of smuggling illegal substances into Tulsa and the Kansas City area from Mexico. Nine are in custody.

A federal grand jury indictment that was unsealed Monday in Tulsa charges 11 people with conspiracy to distribute large amounts of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico.

The alleged ringleaders, brothers Manuel and Mario Bonilla, also face charges of operating a continuing criminal enterprise in violation of the federal "drug kingpin" law, U.S. Attorney David O'Meilia said.

"This is an extremely large drug-trafficking organization smuggling marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico across the border into El Paso (Texas) and then transporting the drugs to Tulsa and other places for distribution," said O'Meilia, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

The investigation, called Operation Icepack, spanned more than two years, he said.

Two of the defendants, Manuel Bonilla, 36, and Omar Cruz, 27, are believed to be in Mexico, their home country. The remaining nine defendants are in custody.

They are Mario Bonilla, 23, of Tulsa; Cecilia Lorena Bonilla, 20, of Tulsa; Francisca Bonilla, 63, of Mexico; Michelle Moreno, 27, of Tulsa; Holly King, 29, of Wann; Felix McVay, 51, of Haskell; Selene Soto, 31, of Odessa, Texas; Victor Poras, 36, of Kansas City, Mo.; and Jose Silos, 47, of Mexico.

The indictment alleges that the Bonilla family started smuggling drugs into the United States in about March 2001, primarily through the El Paso area. The drugs were brought into Tulsa and Kansas City, where the organization stored, manufactured and distributed them.

The defendants also are accused of smuggling guns into Mexico, using hidden compartments in vehicles traveling from the United States.

They are accused of using various communication methods, including cellular telephones and pagers, to carry out their operations and of using firearms to protect their drug shipments and cash profits.

The drug-kingpin statute re quires evidence that a defendant organized a drug-trafficking organization involving at least five people who engaged in a series of felonies and made a substantial profit.

Operation Icepack was led by the U.S. Attorney's Office's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. O'Meilia praised the work of agencies involved in the investigation, including the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Divi sion, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Tulsa Police Department.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold has been placed on Francisca Bonilla, who is in the Tulsa Jail. The other defendants are either in the United States legally or their status is not yet known, task force attorney Allen J. Litchfield said.

Nicole Marshall 581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com

Source: Tulsa World