23 people charged with distributing heroin in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday, September 10th that 23 defendants were indicted in federal court with conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin.
According to information released in federal court on Tuesday, this is a large drug-trafficking organization that has been selling cocaine and heroin on the south side of Milwaukee for many years. They are responsible for distributing multiple kilograms of heroin per month and it’s believed that one of the distributors may be responsible for at least one heroin overdose death.
Praxedes Reyes
The leaders of the organization were Victor 34 years old), Geraldo (38 years old) and Praxedes Reyes (35 years old) who are brothers (the others indicted are listed below). The Reyes brothers received their heroin primarily from Santiago Hernandez out of Chicago, though they did occasionally use other sources.
On Tuesday, officers arrested 19 of the defendants (the other 4 were already in custody) and executed search warrants at seven separate locations. Seized in these search warrants was approximately $300,000 in U.S. currency and five firearms. Over the last few weeks, officers have also seized over one kilogram of heroin.
The defendants were charged based on a lengthy joint investigation by the Milwaukee Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) via the Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Drug Gang Task Force.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to life in prison and fines.
Complete list of defendants: