WV Drug Ring Linked to Sinaloa Cartel Crumbles

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MARTINSBURG, WV – A 61-year-old Hagerstown, Maryland man just admitted he was a key player in a large-scale drug operation flooding Berkeley and Jefferson Counties with poison, and the trail leads straight back to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

David Reyes pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin. Court records show Reyes wasn’t just a mule; he was a source, organizer, and decision-maker in the whole damn thing. He was allegedly working directly with contacts in Puerto Rico to move the product.

Federal prosecutors say the operation, led by Saul Alex Padilla-Garcia, used an autobody shop in Martinsburg as a front. The crew was importing serious quantities of drugs – both through the U.S. Postal Service and directly from sources connected to the Sinaloa Cartel. Eighteen people were initially indicted in the case.

So far, twelve have sung, and eight have already been sentenced. This isn’t a small-time operation. The Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, along with a whole alphabet soup of federal agencies – FBI, US Marshals, HSI, DEA, ATF, and more – brought this network down. Looks like Reyes will be joining them soon.