COLUMBIA, SC (WCSC) – The South Carolina Attorney General said an investigation by a drug gang operating in South Carolina and Georgia has led to 124 criminal charges against 34 people.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said a joint investigation in the state called Los Banditos claimed that much of the drug trafficking was managed and assisted by the owners of the Los Primos restaurant, located in Greenville, near a primary school.
“The restaurant not only serves food, but serves as a regional center where cocaine and methamphetamine are alleged to have been trafficked throughout South Carolina and other states in our region,” Wilson said. “Restaurant owners are also said to have driven trucks with tacos, which they use to sell their drugs in the area.”
Wilson said the restaurant would eventually serve as a regional hub through which cocaine and methamphetamine were allegedly trafficked to other states.
The investigation revealed alleged links to Mexican drug cartels operating in South Carolina and Georgia.
Las Banditos, which includes numerous agencies, local, state and federal, led to the allegations, along with the seizure of about $ 825,000 in methamphetamine, $ 70,000 in cocaine, approximately $ 63,000 in cash and more than 20 firearms.
“So this is a very stable operation that transferred blood to the state of Georgia,” Wilson said. “Many of these drugs are said to be destined to be traced here in South Carolina.
Wilson stressed that the accused are presumed innocent until convicted in court.
“That being said, the drugs usually cross the southern border of the United States and are then transported to Atlanta, Georgia, which is the main drug center for the southeastern United States,” Wilson said. “From there, they often come to South Carolina.
The investigation led to additional seizures in Atlanta of approximately $ 15 million in methamphetamine, more than $ 400,000 in cocaine and more than $ 300,000 in heroin, he said.
Some of the cocaine seized, he said, was mixed with fentanyl.
“Now we all know what’s going on in this country, and it’s bad enough for people to trade in cocaine,” Wilson said. “And fentanyl is a deadly poison. And for those people who use drugs for entertainment, don’t always assume that what you get won’t be tied to something that could kill you.
Investigators found that over time, the drug trafficking group in two countries sold more than $ 75 million in methamphetamine, $ 12 million in cocaine and more than $ 200,000 in heroin, Wilson said.
A significant portion of the seized drugs is believed to have been destined for South Carolina, he said.
“It was a large-scale organized drug operation that allegedly trafficked pounds of drugs each week in Greenville County,” said Walt Wilkins, a 13th County Attorney.
State Attorney General for the Grand Jury Creighton Waters, South Carolina Law Enforcement Chief Mark Keel, and Department of Homeland Security and Greenville and Pickens County law enforcement officials, all of whom participated in the investigation, also attended the news conference. .
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