CEDAR PARK, Texas — The Cedar Park Police Department (CPPD) said that is has arrested a dozen people as part of an effort to crack down on the distribution of fentanyl.
CPPD said it has issued 13 federal indictments for possession of and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, with 12 people arrested so far. The department also seized more than 100,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, with a street value of over $1 million.
Over the course of the last two years, the department said it has seen 23 overdoes with nine of those people dying.
In 2020, more than 260 people died in Travis County due to overdoses, according to the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance and Texas Department of State Health Services. The 262 drug-related deaths that year represented a 36% increase from 2019, and a 47% increase from 2015.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued an alert in September 2021 regarding an "alarming increase" in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. The agency said that it seized more than 9.5 million counterfeit pills, and that lab testing revealed a "dramatic rise" in the number of pills containing at least two milligrams of fentanyl. That is considered a deadly dose of the drug.
Cedar Park's update came a few hours before the Texas Department of Justice announced that all 13 individuals were arrested on criminal charges for the alleged involvement in the distribution of fentanyl in the Austin area.
They were identified as:
- Marcos Garcia, 18, of Somerton, Arizona
- Oliver Garcia, 20, of Lockhart
- Christopher Brook, 23, of Austin
- Jaime Cabrales, 23, of Austin
- Matthew Juan, 19, of Austin
- Adi Martinez Marquez, 19, of Austin
- Andrew Ruben Ramirez, 23, of Austin
- Ezequiel Azmitia-Jimenez, 19, of Lockhart
- Michael Bauman, 18, of Austin
- Daemon Lye Garcia, 19, of San Marcos
- Ernest Ochoa, 18, of Austin
- Josue Nolasco-Campuzano, 20, of Live Oak
“This operation demonstrates this Office’s commitment to the disruption and prosecution of criminal organizations destroying communities through the distribution of deadly counterfeit prescriptions laced with fentanyl,” said U. S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to contront this escalating problem.”
“Today’s coordinated law enforcement operation dismantled an enterprise responsible for the distribution of counterfeit pills; these fake pills laced with fentanyl were clandestinely manufactured to mimic the prescription pharmaceutical Oxycodone,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division. “Counterfeit pills have become a real and viable threat to the American people. We caution every person to never consume pharmaceuticals unless under licensed medical care and sourced from a licensed pharmacy. The DEA will continue to relentlessly pursue any individual or organization that threatens our communities with these fake deadly pills.”
Marcos Garcia, Oliver Garcia, Brook, Cabrales, Juan, Marquez, Ramirez and Azmitia were charged by federal indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Each could face up to life in prison if convicted.
Bauman, Daemon Garcia, Ochoa and Nolasco were charged by federal criminal complaint of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. They too could face a life sentence if convicted.
The DEA, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Austin, Cedar Park, San Angelo and San Marcos Police Departments are assisting in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Marshall is prosecuting.
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