LITTLE ROCK — Nearly two dozen people have been charged with federal crimes in a conspiracy centered on methamphetamine trafficking in Arkansas, authorities said Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Christopher Thyer said at a news conference that 22 people have been indicted in a 36-count indictment in an investigation dubbed Operation Meilke Way. A 23rd defendant was charged in a separate indictment. A full list of the defendants and charges is available here (PDF).
Seventeen of the defendants are in custody and five others have been summoned to appear in court. One, identified as 30-year-old Rhanda Rachel Ramey of North Little Rock, remains at large.
"We disrupted and dismantled a major drug trafficking organization," said Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge William J. Bryant. "... This is dope that won't get to people on the street here in Arkansas."
Thyer said officials seized 13 pounds of methamphetamine as well as seven vehicles, $163,590 in cash and guns as part of the investigation. The drugs - methamphetamine in ice form - were reportedly being smuggled into the country from Mexico.
Police described 27-year-old Jorge Rojas-Olivera, of Batesville, as the main distributor of the drugs within Arkansas. He is charged with three counts of possession with intent to distribute and one count of witness tampering.
Bryant said the group was bringing in up to 25 pounds of methamphetamine into central and northeastern Arkansas each month. Bryant called that a "tremendous amount."
Investigators say the case started with a traffic stop.
