Agents in charge said the criminal activity centered around methamphetamine, fentanyl and firearms being transported to Louisville from California.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Federal authorities revealed Tuesday a major drug trafficking and money laundering case in Louisville; the U.S. Attorney’s Office said 22 people are now facing federal charges.
Agents in charge said the criminal activity centered around methamphetamine, fentanyl and firearms being transported to Louisville from California dating back to April 2024 until a few months ago.
Agents seized 60 pounds of meth, 88 pounds of fentanyl disguised as legitimate pharmaceuticals and 120 firearms, many of which were reported stolen.
Key members of several gangs in California were taken into custody after exchanging stolen firearms for narcotics in Louisville, according to officials. Many were wanted for murder and assault.
Here are the people indicted that are from Louisville:
- Ordell Smith, Jr., 38
- Vanray O’Neal, 38
- Darren Render, 33
- Antonio Taylor, 39
- Terry Matthews, 44
- Dylan Bradley, 21
- Demetrius Brown, 42
- Dominic McCray, 30
- Joshua James, 42
- Gregory Jackson, 34
- Thai Quoc Tran, 24
- Devon Wilson, 43
- Mark Foster, Jr., 33
- Devante Rice, 30
- Celotia Evans, 39
- Jaremei Hinkle, 24
The other six people are from California, according to authorities. McCray, Matthews, Evans and Hinkle have not been arrested.
Most would face a minimum 10-year sentence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“Let these indictments be a warning; to those who poison our streets, we’re coming,” Kyle Bumgarner, the U.S. attorney for Western Kentucky, said. “To gang members…we’re coming.”
This indictment is the outcome of the new Homeland Security Taskforce, which is a partnership with agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations; United States Postal Service; Kentucky State Police and United States Customs. Louisville Metro Police helped the taskforce locally.