Feds Find Meth in Ice Cream Freezers in Louisiana Drug Bust

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced five drug trafficking cases filed across western Louisiana over the past several weeks, charging more than a dozen defendants with trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine through the region on behalf of Mexican cartels.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller announced the cases alongside the FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security Investigations. All five were charged between mid-February and mid-March as part of the federal Homeland Security Task Force initiative.

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147 Kilograms of Meth Hidden Inside Ice Cream Freezers Near Breaux Bridge

The case that drew the most attention involved two Mexican nationals arrested near Breaux Bridge after investigators found approximately 147 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside ice cream freezers they were towing, according to federal prosecutors.

The freezers contained fabricated metal boxes welded to the back wall of the insulated compartment. The meth was packed inside those hidden boxes.

Ranulfo Garcia Rodriguez and Christian Antonio Sanchez Ramirez are charged in the case. Both face 10 years to life in federal prison if convicted. The DEA and Louisiana State Police investigated the case.

100 Kilograms of Cocaine Found in 18-Wheeler Cab in Lafayette

In Lafayette, investigators stopped an 18-wheeler and found approximately 100 kilograms of cocaine stashed in a hidden compartment inside the cab.

Lance Fields and Ronald Adams, Jr. are charged in the case. Like the Breaux Bridge defendants, both face 10 years to life. The DEA and Louisiana State Police investigated.

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DEA Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer noted that those two seizures alone pulled nearly 550 pounds of meth and cocaine out of the supply chain.

Shreveport Case Charges 10 in Fentanyl Operation Linked to a Death

The largest case by defendant count came out of Shreveport. Ten people face charges in United States v. Willie Baker et al. for trafficking kilogram quantities of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and methamphetamine.

Prosecutors said the drugs were routed from transnational criminal organizations through Houston and into Shreveport. The case also charges that one death resulted from the fentanyl trafficking.

Willie Lee Baker is the lead defendant. Officials described him as one of the largest drug distributors in north Louisiana, according to KPLC. Baker has prior drug trafficking convictions that expose him to higher mandatory minimum sentences. If convicted, the defendants face 10 years to life.

The FBI, ATF, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Shreveport Police Department investigated the case.

Lake Charles Case Ties to Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel

In the Lake Charles area, two Mexican nationals and a third person were arrested for conspiring to traffic approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations.

Juan Francisco Gonzalez de Leon and the other defendants were stopped by members of the Calcasieu Parish Combined Anti-Drug Taskforce and arrested in February. A federal grand jury indicted them in March. HSI and the Calcasieu Parish taskforce investigated.

Alexandria Storage Unit Yields Fentanyl, Meth, Oxycodone, and Cash

The fifth case came out of Alexandria, where investigators found approximately 6.2 kilograms of fentanyl, 2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1 kilogram of oxycodone pills, and about $34,000 in cash concealed in a storage unit.

Elijah Jones is charged in that case. The FBI and the Rapides Area Drug Enforcement group at the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated.

Cases Part of Federal Push Against Cartel-Connected Trafficking in Louisiana

All five cases fall under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative created by executive order. HSTF Region 15, based in New Orleans, coordinates the federal, state, and local agencies involved, with the Western District of Louisiana’s U.S. Attorney’s Office leading the prosecutions.

The cases build on a string of recent federal drug enforcement actions in Louisiana. In February, a federal grand jury in Lafayette indicted 11 members of a drug trafficking organization linked to the Gulf Cartel. And Operation Louisiana Shield, a months-long crackdown announced the same month, resulted in 742 arrests statewide and the seizure of firearms, fentanyl, meth, and cocaine across the state.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.