A total of 13 individuals are now in custody on conspiracy and drug trafficking charges after an operation with the DEA, Stephenville PD and Erath County Sheriff’s Office.
The trafficking charges were outlined in a criminal indictment filed on Sept. 26.
Defendants were arrested on Monday, Oct. 3 and made their initial appearance on Tuesday, Oct. 4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffery L. Cureton, according to information released by John Parker, Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA in Dallas.
The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to possess a controlled substance –meth- with intent to distribute.
Eight of those defendants have been arrested in the operation, five are in custody at various locations on unrelated state charges, and two have not yet been arrested.
The investigation began in December of 2021 when the Stephenville PD and the ECSO began investigating the meth and heroin traffi cking of the Dylan Wokaly Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) and identified numerous individuals distributing for, or obtaining meth and heroin from DTO.
The investigation involved undercover purchases and search warrants, and throughout the investigation, substantial amounts of meth, heroin, marijuana, and cash were seized from the DTO.
Law enforcement learned that this DTO, based in and around Fort Worth, was allegedly responsible for distributing hundreds of multi kilogram quantities of meth in Tarrant County, Erath County, Parker County, Brown County and Coleman County.
In addition, law enforcement has dismantled several of the DTO’s suppliers, and it continues to investigate others that remain in operation.
A federal criminal indictment is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged.
A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The statutory penalty, upon conviction, for the offense charged is not less than five years or more than 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith.