Inmates, correctional officers charged with smuggling drugs into Texas prisons

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Thirteen people, including inmates and correctional officers, have been charged in connection with a narcotics smuggling operation in Texas prisons.

Court paperwork says 35-year-old inmate Juan Francisco "Joker" Munoz leads the Juan Munoz Drug Trafficking Organization and is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for murder. 

Munoz and other inmates allegedly used contraband cellphones to direct and coordinate the organization's drug trafficking, and got the drugs from multiple sources, including employed correctional officers.

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The three officers are accused of meeting with non-incarcerated members of the organization to get drugs, cellphones and other contraband, and then smuggling them into the prisons for thousands of dollars.

The organization also allegedly used the mail to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the prisons. Four non-incarcerated members allegedly packed drug-soaked sheets of paper and mailed them to inmates who were either members or customers of the organization.

The charges are as follows:

• Juan Francisco "Joker" Munoz, 35: six counts including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering; he faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted
• Paul "Salute" Govea, 35: four counts including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and identity theft; he faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted
• Verndale Ray Seals, 34: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. If convicted, he faces 15 years to life in prison.
• Osama Mohammed Elwan, 32: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; he faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted
• Osauwa Emmanuel Williams, 48: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
• Anival Ruiz "Tall Guy" Porras, 41: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted
• Ryan Ty Melchor, 26: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl; he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted
• Rosa Teromina Miller, 43: six counts including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering; she faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted
• Daniel Guadalupe Flores, 30: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; he faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted
• Melissa Amador, 28: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; she faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted
• Ashley Marie Arriaga, 35: five counts including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and identity theft; she faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted
• Amber Tanae Huey, 34: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; she faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted
• Aida Gerardina Gomez Ortiz, 32: one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl; she faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted

The indictment also alleges that DEA special agents seized from defendants' residences more than 520 grams of paper sheets soaked with fentanyl and synthetic cannabinoids, more than 120 grams of paper sheets soaked with heroin and synthetic cannabinoids, and 254.6 milliliters of liquid synthetic cannabinoids, along with envelopes addressed to inmates. 

Also according to the indictment, once smuggled in, organization members could then sell a single sheet of drug-soaked paper for up to $1,000. During the period outlined in the indictment, Miller transferred nearly $333,000 from peer-to-peer payment platforms.