Local drug case has ties to 'El Chapo' cartel - Niagara Gazette

Lockport resident Troy R. Gillon and a California man were convicted Thursday of operating a drug trafficking enterprise that had ties to Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the leader of northern Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and the world's most notorious drug dealer.

Gillon and Herman E. Aguirre, of Brea, Calif., were found guilty of narcotics conspiracy after an eight-week trial. Aguirre, described as the enterprise's ringleader, was also found guilty of operating a continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering conspiracy.

U.S. Attorneys say the two were part of an extraordinary conspiracy that trafficked millions of doses of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in shipping pallets disguised as containing "sea cucumbers."

The enterprise created multiple fake organizations, including Corral Seafoods, LLC, registered in Cheektowaga, and three companies registered in California, in order to disguise narcotics and launder money, prosecutors say.

The narcotics were allegedly shipped through the mail, in secret compartments in individual vehicles and in shipping containers that were labeled as sea cucumbers and sealed with foam or spray insulation to avoid detection.

Gillon and Aguirre's organization allegedly deposited over $19 million in drug money into these fake seafood accounts between June 2013 and September 2015. Meanwhile, California co-conspirators created bogus invoices that showed Western New Yorkers buying sea cucumbers at astounding rates.

A Wegman's Food Markets manager testified at trial that none of the company's local stores carry sea cucumbers because there is almost no demand for it here. During the investigation, police seized more than $5 million worth of narcotics, including more than 115 pounds of cocaine, over 38 pounds of heroin and nearly 19 pounds of fentanyl. Prosecutors say that represents about 4.2 million "hits" of cocaine and heroin, and enough fentanyl to kill over 4 million people.

Evidence presented in the trial showed Gillon received 22 pounds of fentanyl from Aguirre and distributed it throughout Western New York.

That fentanyl caused a rash of overdoses in the Lockport area after New Year's Day in 2015, causing Gillon to stop dealing after he had sold about 4 1/2 pounds of fentanyl.

In March 2015, Gillon sold the remaining 17 1/2 pounds of fentanyl to a co-conspirator. He later told police he sold it back because, "People are dying of this (expletive)," according to testimony from DEA Special Agent Shane Nastoff.

But the fentanyl did not go far.

The co-conspirator allegedly took the fentanyl — along with 4 1/2 pounds of cocaine and over 48 pounds of heroin — to a house on Folger Street in Buffalo.

Buffalo Police raided the house March 23, 2015 and seized over 70 pounds of drugs.

"This transnational drug organization and these defendants were responsible for introducing the scourge of lethal fentanyl into our community, resulting in the loss of lives," said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy. "However, as a result of this verdict and previous convictions of multiple co-defendants, the organization and the pipeline have been effectively shut down."

Aguirre is scheduled to be sentenced June 12, and Gillon on June 14, both before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. They each face potential life sentences.

Fifteen co-conspirators were indicted along with Gillon and Aguirre, each of whom has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

What's more, the police and DEA's seizures denied some $2.5 million in revenue to the Sinaloa Cartel, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan.

The U.S. Intelligence Community identified the Sinaloa Cartel as the most powerful in Mexico in 2010, according to an Associated Press report. The group's leader, Guzmán — better known as El Chapo — was for decades widely considered the world's most powerful drug kingpin. He made Forbes' lists of the World's Most Powerful People and World's Billionaires until 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Guzmán also gained notoriety for a pair of stunning escapes from Mexican prisons. In July 2015, he escaped from a maximum security prison near Mexico City by heading through a tunnel that accomplices dug from his cell to a safe house about a mile away.

Guzmán also escaped from a Mexican prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart that a maintenance worker rolled out the front door.

Mexican marines arrested Guzmán again in January 2016. He has since been extradited to the U.S. and is now being held in maximum security in a Manhattan jail and standing trial in federal court in Brooklyn.

Authorities reportedly close down the Brooklyn Bridge when transporting him to and from court.