Eight drug traffickers who ran a large meth operation in Clayton County have been sentenced to federal prison.
The operation was a family affair that started sometime in 2012, according to authorities. That’s when ringleader Candido Ortuno Alvear moved to the Atlanta area from Texas and began making and distributing meth, according to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, in an emailed statement.
Alvear recruited his then 19-year-old son, Victor Ortuno-Penaloza, brother-in-law Vicente Arana Galvan, cousin Tomas Sanchez Juarez, and an associate, Pablo Maldonado Penalosa, to join the drug ring. The group rented several houses, including one on Maple Avenue in Morrow and Needle Drive in Forest Park, where they made, stored, packaged and distributed large quantities of meth, according to Yates. Alonso Alfonso Rivera, who lived in a home on Brian Court in Forest Park, served as a meth distributor for the ring, Yates said.
“These defendants thought that their drug trafficking operations would go unnoticed in Clayton County neighborhoods,” said Yates. “They were wrong. Due to the outstanding efforts of DEA agents and their local law enforcement partners, these traffickers are off our streets and headed to federal prison.”
All eight men were charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. All defendants pleaded guilty to the charges prior to their convictions, according to Yates.
Candido Ortuno Alvear, 40, of Forest Park, was sentenced to 21 years; Victor Ortuno-Penaloza, 21, of Forest Park, was sentenced to nine years; Vicente Arana Galvan, 44, of Morrow, was sentenced to 10 years; Tomas Sanchez Juarez, 27, of Forest Park, was sentenced to 12 years; Pablo Maldonado Penalosa, 30, of Forest Park, was sentenced to nine years; Octavio Cruz Albar, 29, of Atlanta, was sentenced to six years; Robert Dale Penland, 55, of Asheville, NC., was sentenced to eight years; Alonso Alfonso Rivera, 31, of Forest Park, was sentenced to 10 years.
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