31 Indicted in Ladson Cartel Nightclub Case, Some Face 25-to-30-Year Cocaine Terms

South Carolina officials announced 31 indictments Monday tied to a nightclub raid conducted more than a year earlier in Ladson, alleging a cocaine trafficking pipeline that ran from Mexican cartels through Texas, Florida and Georgia into the Charleston area. Prosecutors unsealed five indictments covering 59 charges against the 31 defendants, most of whom were charged in Charleston County. The case traces back to a June 2025 raid on The Alamo, an unlicensed nightclub on U.S. Highway 78 near Summerville, that investigators say became the launching point for a sprawling narcotics and gang investigation known as Operation Last Stand.

According to KATU, the June 2025 raid resulted in 86 total arrests, including 79 administrative immigration arrests and seven criminal arrests. Officials described the raid as occurring during what they called a cartel afterparty, allegedly involving members connected to Los Zetas and Tren de Aragua. The investigation that followed encompassed large-scale drug trafficking, shootings, gun smuggling, firearms trafficking, gang violence, prostitution and sex trafficking, per the same report.

The Alamo had drawn scrutiny well before the raid. Local law enforcement first opened an investigation into the club in November 2024 after persistent noise complaints escalated into reports of violent assaults and unlawful activity, according to South Carolina Public Radio. When local police, ICE and more than 60 SLED agents descended on the club around 3 a.m. on June 1, 2025, they found a crowd of about 200 patrons and recovered a missing juvenile, the station reported.

A Pipeline Stretching From Mexico to Charleston

State prosecutors allege the trafficking network historically moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, along with fentanyl and methamphetamine, from Mexican cartels through southern border states directly into the Charleston area, according to FITSNews. Officials described illegally operating businesses and nightclubs as epicenters of criminal activity within that network, per KATU's reporting.

Investigators kept building the case in the months after the initial raid. A search warrant executed in February 2026 turned up firearms, 45 grams of cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and 347 grams of marijuana, advancing the State Grand Jury's investigation ahead of Monday's indictments, according to EIN Presswire. The South Carolina Attorney General's Office said raids connected to the case were still being conducted as recently as the week before the indictments were announced, per KATU.

Dozens Face the Same Mandatory Cocaine Charge

The bulk of the 31 defendants — including Pedro Moreno, Angel Felix Castillo Menendez, Jose Alberto Rodriguez Campos, Juan Diego Bohorquez Quast, Juan Balderas-Cerritos, David Slavi Ivanov, Jose Francisco Carreno Rodriguez, Juan Carlos Velazquez Morales, Branden Ronnard Antwan Ferrell, Eric Deangelo Mckenzie, Timothy Christian Brown, Nykeil Tytravias Miller, Ramon William Green, Oscar Orlando Sierra Jr., Antonio Jermaine Levy, Reynaldo Lopez, Ramon Gamble, Ahmed Adel Maher Elsayed Elallawy, Zakaria Ahmad Quzah, Rami Abuhani and Lorenzo Lavar Johnson — were each charged with conspiracy to traffic 400 grams or more of cocaine in Charleston County, per KATU's reporting.

Others face broader charge sheets. Abraham Deontre Doctor IV and Evan Anthony Cole were each charged with cocaine trafficking conspiracy and trafficking 28 to 100 grams of cocaine, with Cole also facing a county-jail contraband charge. Manuel Arthuro Gutierrez was charged with conspiracy to traffic 400 grams or more of cocaine along with possession of a stolen handgun. Demaro Devon Rollison faces crack cocaine trafficking, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and firearm possession during a violent crime, while Rickey Omar Swinton was charged with cocaine trafficking conspiracy, cocaine trafficking, crack cocaine trafficking, MDMA possession and six firearm-possession counts, according to the same account.

Three defendants were charged across both Charleston and Horry counties. Jed Hakeem Coleman faces cocaine trafficking, methamphetamine possession, failure to stop for blue lights, resisting arrest and cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Richard Quay Pham was charged with fentanyl trafficking, cocaine trafficking conspiracy, cocaine trafficking, methamphetamine distribution and fentanyl distribution. Christopher Patrick Best faces conspiracy to traffic 400 grams or more of cocaine, firearm pointing, cocaine distribution and marijuana possession in the same two counties, per KATU.

Brothel and Prostitution Charges Filed Alongside Drug Counts

Among the 31 defendants, Arelis Del Carmen Santos Gomez faces cocaine trafficking conspiracy, two drug-distribution-law violations, two brothel-operation counts and prostitution-related unlawful acts, according to Crime and Cask News Network. Officials have argued that illicit commercial venues functioned as operational hubs for the wider trafficking network, a point that echoes the initial description of The Alamo as a gathering point for cartel-linked activity.

Mark Christopher Casey was charged with cocaine trafficking conspiracy and second-offense cocaine possession in Charleston County, per KATU. Officials said some defendants connected to the case remain under seal, leaving open questions about how many additional people may eventually face charges.

Mandatory Minimums and a Governor's Race Backdrop

Under South Carolina law, a 25-to-30-year prison range is described for trafficking more than 400 grams of cocaine, but the linked South Carolina Code page does not confirm a specific fine or the cited statutory provision. The available sentencing materials do not establish whether judges may reduce prison time or offer probation for that offense, so the sources do not establish that a majority of the 31 indicted defendants face the same 25-to-30-year range if convicted.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who announced the indictments, said narcotics trafficking from Mexican cartels poses a threat to national security. Wilson is also the 2026 Republican nominee for governor of South Carolina, according to the Post and Courier, adding a political dimension to a high-profile press conference held during election season. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel said the investigation was multi-year, complex and thorough, per KATU's account.

SLED and its partner agencies said they aimed to dismantle the trafficking network through the large-scale enforcement operations that made up Operation Last Stand. The effort involved formal coordination across at least 14 law enforcement entities, including the State Grand Jury, SLED, Homeland Security Investigations, ICE and agencies in eight counties — Charleston, Berkeley, Georgetown, Dorchester, Kershaw, Richland, Lexington and Horry — per EIN Presswire. Additional participating agencies named by KATU included the Summerville Police Department, the South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

The June 2025 raid itself drew local media scrutiny after officials initially withheld arrest documentation and public records, citing what they described as mountains of paperwork amid ongoing multi-agency secrecy, the Post and Courier reported at the time. That transparency dispute unfolded even as investigators continued building toward the indictments unsealed more than a year later.