The Ventura County Sheriff's Narcotics detectives have dismantled a cocaine delivery service that was catering to a large customer base in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. An intensive five-month probe culminated on the morning of December 21 when detectives executed multiple search warrants, leading to the arrest of eight individuals affiliated with the delivery service. The operation yielded over five pounds of cocaine, five firearms, and substantial amounts of cash suspected to be drug proceeds, according to the official report.
Dubbed a transnational drug trafficking organization, the delivery service's network was revealed to include operation heads, dispatchers, stash house operators, couriers, and delivery drivers. An investigation initiated in July indicated that two of the suspects, Joel Cruz Ayala and Elmer Ayala-Ayala from Bakersfield, served as full-time dispatchers, with Luis Cruz managing their dispatch house and liaising with the outfit's leadership in El Salvador. Other arrested suspects included delivery drivers who routinely distributed the drug to scores of daily customers.
The Sheriff's Office believes that the arrests of Joel De La Paz Cruz Ayala, Wilfredo Mauricio Benavides Castillo, Lisandro Moreno, Jose Samuel Ayala Hernandez, Elmer Gustavo Ayala-Ayala, Kevin Bonilla, Noel Ovidio Cruz Alfaro, and Luis Antonio Cruz will significantly disrupt the operations of this drug trafficking network. Each suspect played a unique role within this intricate organization, according to the press release issued by Sergeant Dan Ashmore.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit continues to investigate additional leads in hopes of completely disbanding the drug trafficking organization. The suspects have since been processed, and a reward of up to $1,000 is offered by Ventura County Crime Stoppers for information leading to further arrests in this case.
