34 charged in drug trafficking ring out of Greenville Mexican restaurant, food truck
Indictments were issued Wednesday in a high-scale regional drug trafficking case where 34 people were arrested and now face a collective 124 charges, the South Carolina Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday.
The trafficking operation was run out of Los Primos, a Mexican restaurant off West Parker Road in Greenville County. The drugs were distributed throughout the state but mostly in the Upstate directly out of the restaurant or through a taco truck owned by the restaurant, the Attorney General's Office stated.
Los Primos served as a regional hub where cocaine and methamphetamine were trafficked to other states, according to the state agency.
Investigators also found possible connections to Mexican drug cartels operating in South Carolina and Georgia, the Attorney General's Office stated.
In total, there were 11 kilograms of methamphetamine, 584 grams of cocaine, approximately $63,000 in cash and over 20 firearms seized during the operation.
The conspiracy accounted for over 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine, 100 kilograms of cocaine, and 2 kilograms of heroin trafficked throughout the state, according to a statement from the Attorney General's Office.
Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins said the organized drug operation allegedly trafficked drugs every week into Greenville County.
“The hard work and dedication of the Greenville County Drug Enforcement Unit, SLED, and the South Carolina State Grand Jury has significantly decreased the availability of drugs in the Greenville community and arrested some of its worst drug dealers," Wilkins said in an emailed statement. "While this organization has ties from Mexico to numerous cities in the United States, its drug trafficking efforts and locations in Greenville County were continuing to pump poison directly into our communities."
The case was investigated by the South Carolina State Grand Jury, the Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Division, SLED, the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, the Greenville County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office and the Easley Police Department.
Bond hearings for some of the defendants, many of whom face multiple drug trafficking and possession charges, took place on Monday.
Prosecutors coined the law enforcement operation "Los Banditos," according to the Solicitor's Office.
Tamia Boyd is a Michigan native who covers breaking news in Greenville. Email her at tboyd@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville County restaurant Los Primos tied to Mexican drug cartels
