ALBEMARLE — The Drug Enforcement Administration announced last week that the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office was one of over two dozen collaborators who assisted in the investigation of a large-scale drug operation.
On April 22, high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel member Emmanuel Martimiano Leon-Soto was arrested in Nogales, Arizona, and charged for his involvement in a drug trafficking and money laundering scheme following a year-and-a-half-long major federal operation.
Leon-Soto is the last person arrested of 38 individuals charged in November 2024 by a federal grand jury seated in the Middle District of North Carolina with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine hydrochloride.
He now faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the drug conspiracy, along with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy.
“Over the past several years, the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office has been actively collaborating with our federal and local partners on a large-scale drug operation,” the SCSO stated in a media release. “This operation targets the trafficking of illegal controlled substances into Stanly and surrounding counties.”
Throughout the investigation, law enforcement collaborators collectively seized over 70 pounds of fentanyl, 182 pounds of meth, and 30 pounds of cocaine.
“The Stanly County Sheriff’s Office has played a key role in this operation by assisting in arrests, executing search warrants, and conducting interviews with multiple individuals involved in the drug trafficking network,” the SCSO’s statement continued. “These types of large-scale investigations are crucial in curbing and ultimately halting the flow of illegal drugs into our county. Sheriff Crisco and his team are dedicated to preventing the distribution of illegal drugs within our communities.”
The DEA has reported that Leon-Soto was designated as a Regional Priority Target by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program due to his high-ranking membership status in the Sinaloa Cartel, which has been designated by the DEA as a foreign terrorist organization.
Sinaloa Cartel is one of the world’s largest producers involved in the smuggling, importation, and distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the United States.
“The arrest of Leon-Soto is a significant development in our case against this organization, which is responsible for trafficking large quantities of narcotics to our district and throughout the United States,” Randall S. Galyon, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, said in a press release from the DEA. “This prosecution is a testament to the power of collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement through the OCDETF program, and we thank all the investigating agencies for their tireless commitment to dismantling criminal organizations that threaten the safety and security of our community.”
Along with the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office, other regional agencies involved in this investigation include the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office, Fayetteville Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office, Candor Police Department, Mesa Police Department, Davie County Sheriff’s Office, Forsyth County Drug Task Force, Mooresville Police Department, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, and Surry County Sheriff’s Office.