LAFAYETTE, La. – Ten people accused of trafficking kilogram quantities of fentanyl and other drugs from across the border then through Houston and onto Shreveport are among those indicted in recent weeks in a multi-agency investigation targeting illegal aliens and local gang members.
U.S. Attorney Zachary Keller, along with federal law enforcement partners, on Tuesday reviewed what he called five significant Homeland Security Investigations involving the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
“The five (Homeland Security Task Force) cases we’re announcing today, which involve over a dozen defendants and hundreds of kilograms of hard drugs, show how our federal and state partners are disrupting major drug trafficking operations that impact every corner of this District,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller. “Our office is laser-focused on HSTF’s mission to stamp out every foothold that transnational criminal organizations like the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel and Gulf Cartel make in peddling poisons like fentanyl and methamphetamine in our communities. And for traffickers still operating in our Louisiana communities, the message here is simple: We’re doing everything we can to come for you, and when we do you’re going to be facing charges that can land you in prison for decades.”
Willie Lee Baker is the lead defendant in the Shreveport area. He was indicted in November in connection with a death resulting from the fentanyl trafficking. Baker and another defendant have prior drug convictions that expose them to higher mandatory minimum and maximum penalties…