Members of Prince William County Cocaine Trafficking Ring Indicted

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Seven men were charged in a 34-count indictment yesterday for trafficking cocaine and firearms in Prince William County.

Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Edgar A. Domenech, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; and Charlie T. Deane, Prince William County Chief of Police, made the announcement after the indictment was unsealed.

According to court records, Yasin Oriza Arreola, a/k/a Tony or El Diablo, 30, of Catlett, Va., is accused of being a significant source for distributing cocaine in Prince William County and is allegedly supplied by a Mexican drug trafficking organization. Court records indicate that he has posed as a construction worker — including driving a white work van and wearing a reflective construction vest — to conduct drug transactions at various spots throughout the county. He and others in the conspiracy are alleged to have possessed firearms during drug negotiations and also agreed to sell firearms — including a machine gun — to drug customers.

In addition, the following six men were also charged in the indictment as conspiring with Arreola in running this cocaine trafficking ring:

•Jose Salgado Lovo, 40, of Manassas, Va.

•Isitro Liberato, a/k/a Joker, 20, of Manassas, Va.

•Kelvin Martinez, a/k/a Solo, 25, of Manassas, Va.

•Manuel Perez Castillo, a/k/a New York, 42, of Manassas, Va.

•Jorge Isiais Fernandez, a/k/a Esquivel Madrazo Aquiles, Chesperito, or Picapiedra, 35, of Manassas, Va.

•Angel Enrique Flores, a/k/a Don Angel, 44, of Manassas, Va.

The defendants were previously charged by criminal complaint and arrested on Aug. 25, 2010. They face mandatory minimum penalties ranging from 10 years in prison to 40 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The indictment is a result of a joint investigation led by the FBI, ATF, Prince William County Police Department, and the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force into cocaine and firearms trafficking in Prince William County. The investigations — dubbed Operation Treasure Chest by the FBI and Operation Bull Run by the ATF — were facilitated, in part, by Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force funding, which is specially designated to identify, target, investigate, prosecute and dismantle those drug trafficking organizations that have the greatest adverse impact on Virginia’s communities.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Owings on behalf of the United States.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.