DEA still investigating Fentress bust

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

A major drug bust in rural Caldwell County earlier this year remains under the scrutiny of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) this week.
According to DEA Agent Jack Schumaker, agency investigators are still examining leads and statements regarding a drug trafficking ring that has been doing business from the Fentr

ess pig farm for several years.
“[He] has apparently been the primary foreman out there for some time,” Schumaker said of the main figure in the bust, a suspect he referred to only as “Romero.”
Schumaker said the suspect and several members of his family were investigated and subsequently arrested for receiving and distributing Mexican “ice” (methamphetamine).
“What we were able to gather is that he was receiving the drugs, possibly from blood relatives coming from Mexico, and has been distributing it for quite some time.”
Schumaker also said “Romero” was involved in chicken-fighting, perhaps as a cover for his drug trafficking business.
“When we went out there, we found around 100 birds, mostly game cocks,” he said. “This was the second similar arrest we’ve had [in Caldwell County].”
The other arrest Schumaker referred to was the arrest of Noe Perez on charges of narcotic possession and distribution and rooster fighting several months ago.
Because the incident is still under investigation, Schumaker declined to be overly specific about the suspects or the pending charges. He did note that many of the suspects who have already been arrested are Mexican nationals, and that several are in Federal custody.
“This guy and his relatives were the first ones that we focused on, but we still have more investigating to do and more leads to check on,” he said. “In the next several weeks, we hope that more light will come to who else he was dealing with.”