Seven Indicted for Trafficking Drugs From California to Providence

Seven Indicted for Trafficking Drugs From California to Providence

Seven people have been indicted for their alleged roles in trafficking more than 200 packages of heroin and cocaine from Los Angeles, California to Providence and Southeastern Massachusetts, announced U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman on Friday.

According to the U.S. Attorney, the seven people that have been indicted are Robert Brown, Deondre Jones, Valerie Gamboa, Marion Gamboa, Giselle Polanco, Joel Sennon, and Shawn Silva.

The Investigation 

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According to the U.S. Attorney, the investigation showed that over 100 packages containing large amounts of cash were allegedly sent from the greater Providence area Southeastern Massachusetts back to members of the conspiracy in Los Angeles, Culver City, and Marina del Rey, California.

A federal indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Providence, charges two individuals from Los Angeles and five individuals from Providence with allegedly having had some role in ensuring that large quantities of drugs were shipped from the Los Angeles area to Southern New England and that payment for the drugs was shipped to the Los Angeles area.

According to court documents and information presented to the Court, investigators from the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Rhode Island State Police High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force determined that beginning in as early as February of 2017, Brown, 41, and Jones, 42, of Los Angeles, allegedly began shipping packages of cocaine and heroin from the Los Angeles area to commercial mailboxes in Southern New England.

The mailboxes were allegedly rented by Valerie Gamboa, 26, Marion Gamboa, 25, and Polanco, 21, of Providence, using fraudulent driver’s licenses.

According to court documents, the packages were allegedly retrieved from the mailboxes by Sennon, 41, and Silva, 37, of Providence, Polanco, and others.

Packages containing payment for the drugs were allegedly mailed to Brown, Jones, and others in the Los Angeles area by Silva and others.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, USPIS and HIDTA investigators determined that members of the conspiracy allegedly shipped at least 219 packages containing large quantities of cocaine or heroin, including packages containing 383 grams of heroin and 560 grams of cocaine seized by law enforcement, to commercial mailboxes in Southern New England.

At least 107 packages containing large amounts of cash for payment for the drugs were mailed to the Los Angeles area. Many of the mailings and the retrieval of packages were captured on video surveillance.

A court-authorized search of Brown’s Los Angeles apartment on August 14, 2019, resulted in the seizure of more than a kilogram of cocaine in vacuumed sealed bags, $32,150 in cash, a loaded semi-automatic handgun and a semi-automatic rifle, various Priority Mail package receipts, commercial mailbox rental receipts, numerous fraudulent driver’s licenses, a cash counting machine, and various items used in the packaging and distribution of drugs.