LOS ANGELES – The lead defendant in an indictment alleging that a drug trafficking organization shipped thousands of pounds of methamphetamine all over the world – sometimes hidden inside consumer and industrial products – arrived in the United States today after being extradited from France.
Jose Guillermo Grosso Gamez, 41, of Sinaloa, Mexico, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport early this afternoon. Grosso is expected to be arraigned Monday afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
Grosso – who used various aliases, including “Greenhills” and “Martinez Asociados” – is charged with brokering and organizing methamphetamine shipments to destinations around the world. To evade law enforcement, Grosso allegedly concealed drug shipments in industrial machinery and bribed government officials in Mexico.
According to an eight-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in 2018, Grosso attempted to ship approximately 265 pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico to Australia concealed in computer equipment. The shipment was intercepted by U.S. law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee.
During the investigation, law enforcement in other countries also seized methamphetamine allegedly shipped by Grosso. Those seizures included approximately 725 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside an industrial ore crusher and an asphalt roller in Manzanillo, Mexico, and approximately 185 pounds of methamphetamine found on a rooster ranch in the Philippines.
The investigation also led to the discovery of a laboratory in Pomona that converted methamphetamine into crystal form and the seizure of over 12 metric tons of amphetamine powder in Guatemala.
Grosso is the third defendant to be taken into custody pursuant to the indictment that charges 17 defendants, most of whom are believed to be in Mexico. An Inland Empire man who was previously arrested died in December. The other defendant -- Milton Eduardo Aquino Castaneda, 51, of the Harbor City neighborhood in Los Angeles – was arrested in November after he entered the United States from Mexico.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted of all charges, Grosso would face a potential sentence of decades in federal prison.
This matter is being investigated by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force is providing support. Substantial assistance was provided by the Office of International Affairs, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, and the governments of France and Australia.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander B. Schwab of the Major Frauds Section and Benedetto L. Balding of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section.
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