Law enforcement officials have taken new actions against an Ontario drug trafficking family with ties to a deadly Mexican cartel while executing a sweeping drug enforcement action.
Police and prosecutors have been tight-lipped about searches and arrests last week in the Ontario area in a coordinated action on Wednesday, Dec. 11. They have yet to identify those arrested in Ontario and Nampa, but state and federal drug charges were filed at about that time in Oregon and Idaho.
According to Cliff Barden with the Oregon State Police, the ongoing joint federal investigation is being led by the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Idaho.
Ontario Police Department said in a press release that the High Desert Drug Task Force executed search warrants at seven locations in Ontario and Payette. Along with methamphetamine and fentanyl, large amounts of suspected drug money and several firearms were seized, according to the press release.
The investigation appears to have swept up yet another member of an extended family with drug trafficking convictions dating back nearly a decade.
Court records show that Esmeralda Aviles-Pacheco of Ontario and Edwin Reyes-Parra of an unknown residence were indicted in Idaho U.S. District Court on Dec. 10 for two counts of distributing methamphetamine and one count of distributing fentanyl.
They were charged with distributing 500 grams of meth in Idaho in June, enough for approximately 2,500 doses of the highly addictive drug, and another 500 grams in October. Aviles-Pacheco and Reyes-Parra also distributed 40 grams of fentanyl last July, according to the indictment.
Aviles-Pacheco and Reyes-Parra pleaded not guilty and remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled in Boise for Dec. 17.
On the day of the police action, the brother of Aviles-Pacheco was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Efren Alexander Aviles-Pacheco, who goes by Alex, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, was sentenced to 15 years for possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to documents filed in an Idaho U.S. District Court.
According to court records, he was arrested in 2022 in a motel room in Nampa with 122 grams of methamphetamine, 365 grams of fentanyl, 29 grams of cocaine, a handgun and more than $3,000.
Alex Aviles-Pacheco was convicted of possessing methamphetamine in 2019, served more than two years in federal prison and then was deported to Mexico.
According to a Friday, Dec. 13, press release from the Idaho US Attorney’s Office, District Court Judge Lynn Winmill said that Aviles-Pacheco would “most certainly” be deported to Mexico after serving his sentence.
During Alex’s sentencing, Winmill said Alex Aviles-Pacheco was likely responsible for at least two overdose deaths from drugs he provided, according to court documents.
“If ever there was a case that screamed out for a long prison sentence,” Winmill said, “this is the case.”
The press release chronicled his family’s other convictions. The Enterprise reported on the family’s connections earlier this year. Relatives of Alex Aviles-Pacheco convicted of drug charges include:
• His father – Efren Ramon Aviles-Lopez, who also goes by Marcelo Sanchez-Espinoza, was sentenced in an Idaho U.S. District Court in 2015 to 20 years for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
• His mother – Alma Lorena-Pacheco, convicted earlier this year after she was arrested in 2020 with 40 pounds of methamphetamine, a kilo of heroin and a firearm. She was sentenced to time served.
• His grandfather – Efren Avilez-Lopez, sentenced earlier this year to nine years in federal prison for possessing 20 pounds of methamphetamine.
• His grandmother – Maria Medina-Zevada, sentenced earlier this year to 37 months in prison for possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• His uncle – Victor Pacheco-Ortiz, sentenced earlier this year to five years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 21 pounds of methamphetamine.
Law enforcement officials confirmed the following were charged in connection with the Dec. 11 operation:
• Felix Benancio Marti- nez of Ontario – Charged with one count each of possession of methamphetamine and unlawful delivery of methamphetamine. Benancio Marti- nez was also charged with two counts of possessing an illegal firearm and two counts of possessing a restricted weapon.
• Jessica Cuevas of Nyssa – Indicted for drug trafficking.
• Michael Keffer of Pay- ette – Arrested for possession and delivery of methamphetamine.
• Travis Montes of Ontario – Arrested for failure to appear in court in Malheur County.
• Bryseida Reyes Flores of Ontario – Arrested for failure to appear in court in Malheur County on previous drug charges.
The scale of the investigation appears to be extensive as other drug task forces from around Oregon were involved, including the Basin Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team in Klamath Falls, Blue Mountain Drug Enforcement Team in Pendleton, Linn Interagency Narcotics Enforcement in Albany and the Rogue Area Drug Enforcement in Grants Pass. These agencies have not immediately responded to requests for comment about the investigation.
News tip? Send your information to Steven Mitchell at [email protected].
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