REXBURG - It's one of Eastern Idaho's biggest drug busts ever and more than two dozen people are facing federal charges.

Authorities from multiple local, state, and federal agencies have spent the past year tracking down and arresting dozens of people involved in a huge drug operation.

On Thursday afternoon, officials met in a press conference to discuss the massive operation.

"Hundreds of pounds of drugs were coming up and millions of dollars were going back into Mexico," says D.E.A. Boise agent Keith Weis.

"This will really put a dent in the drug trafficking in our area," says Madison County Sheriff Roy Klingler.

The investigation centers around the Santos-Rojas and Rojas-Perez organizations - two big names in the drug industry.

The groups would bring large amounts of cocaine and meth from Mexico, sell it in Rexburg, Seattle, or California, then send the money back down to Mexico.

"In the Upper Valley to this point 13 people have been arrested and 14 indictments on a federal level have been handed down," says Klingler.

The Rojas organization has been around at least five years and consists of an extensive family network...many of whom are illegal immigrants. The combined efforts of several local, state, and federal agencies made the drug bust happen.

"It's gonna be a lot harder for numerous people who have connections with this organization to get drugs," says Klingler.

The following people were indicted in Idaho include:

Esteban Rojas-Perez, 30, Rexburg, Idaho
Lorenzo Ojeda-Martinez, 41, Rexburg, Idaho
Ivan Vega, 28, St. Anthony, Idaho
Carmelo Rojas-Perez, 36, Rexburg, Idaho
Maira Medina-Villa, 31, Rexburg, Idaho
Manuel Avendano-Reyes (aka Manuel Nolasco), 20, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Jose Guadalupe Chavez-Medina, 39, Rexburg, Idaho
Jose Perez-Lopez, 29, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Juan Gabriel-Flores, 37, Rigby, Idaho
Spencer Beckstead, 28, Rexburg, Idaho
Felix Moreno-Rangel, 26, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Salvador Resendis, 42, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Jose Soto-Hernandez, 21, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Arturo Chavez-Lopez, 27, St. Anthony, Idaho
Ivan Escobar-Martinez, 22, St. Anthony, Idaho

More suspects are expected to be arrested over the next few weeks.

The following is a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice:


OPERATION CUTTHROAT TAKES DOWN MAJOR COCAINE AND
METHAMPHETAMINE DISTRIBUTION RING

More than a dozen people face federal cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking charges following a year-long investigation into the Santos-Rojas and Rojas-Perez drug trafficking organization operating in the Rexburg, Idaho, and Seattle, Washington, areas. Using court
authorized wiretaps, law enforcement was able to track the activities of the drug organization and make arrests as the Seattle area leader took delivery of 15 kilograms of cocaine. In Idaho, six people were arrested last week, fourteen people were indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on Tuesday, and another seven, who were customers of the drug ring, were arrested today. Fifteen people have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of
Washington. Additionally, six people are in state or immigration custody. Over the past month, authorities searched seven locations in Western Washington and ten locations in Idaho and seized 20 kilograms of cocaine, sixteen pounds of methamphetamine, approximately $940,000 in cash, and numerous cars, firearms and boats. The Santos-Rojas and Rojas-Perez organization is believed to be responsible for distributing more than 70 kilograms of cocaine and more than 30 pounds of methamphetamine in a one-month period, with 5-10 pounds of methamphetamine distributed each month in Idaho over the past two years. The organization has been operating for at least five years and consists of an extensive family network with members from Mexico, Los Angeles, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Illinois.

"This well established and sophisticated organization controlled by Sinaloan drug sources no longer exists in the Pacific Northwest," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Arnold R. Moorin. "The investigation is yet another outstanding example of law enforcement partnerships
working together as one."

The federal focus on the Santos-Rojas and Rojas-Perez organization intensified in November 2007, when a Cadillac Escalade SUV registered to a Seattle resident was stopped by Oregon State Police as it traveled north on Interstate 5 outside of Salem. Bertario Santos-Rojas,
36, of Auburn, Washington, was a passenger in the Escalade. A drug dog (K-9) alerted to the SUV, and following an x-ray examination by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Portland, investigators found 31 kilograms of cocaine and more than $11,000 cash hidden in a speaker box in the rear of the SUV. The driver of the SUV and Bertario Santos-Rojas are charged in connection with that seizure in the District of Oregon. Santos-Rojas faces additional charges in the Western District of Washington.

The Boise DEA, which covers all of southern Idaho, and Madison County Sheriff’s Department infiltrated the organization by purchasing methamphetamine and cocaine and ultimately identified its numerous key members. Esteban Rojas-Perez, 30, based in Rexburg,
Idaho, was identified as the Idaho leader. Multi-jurisdictional task forces continued to gather information about the Rojas-Perez organization. In June 2008, a wiretap confirmed that Santos-
Rojas was working collectively with Rojas-Perez to obtain methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico, which was shipped through California and on to the Northwest. Money was then sent
back to Mexico, often in concealed compartments in vehicles. In September 2008, aware of a major cocaine delivery, Idaho law enforcement moved in and made arrests.

This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF provided supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the investigation. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Boise Task Force, which consists of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office,
Boise Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Nampa Police Department, together with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Seattle Police Department and King County Sheriff’s Office. Assisting agencies included U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
Idaho State Police, Idaho Falls Police Department, Blackfoot Police Department, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Rexburg Police Department, and Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

“The impact on a local level is one of the largest cases we have ever seen in this area of Idaho, and the citizens can and should be very pleased with this outcome,” stated Madison County Sheriff Roy C. Klingler.

“This drug trafficking operation brought significant amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine into our communities. Through the cooperative efforts of local, state and federal authorities, we have successfully dismantled this operation,” said United States Attorney
Thomas E. Moss.