Suspect may be key figure in heroin ring
On Friday afternoon, prayers offered up to Santa Muerte, the patron saint of “Holy Death” who is represented in many drug houses, weren’t enough to spare Ramon Corona Montalvo.
Montalvo, 26, stood with his arms interlocked
with two other inmates as a prosecutor read the charges of engaging in corrupt activity, trafficking in heroin and receiving proceeds subject to forfeiture. The defendant stared ahead as a Spanish interpreter leaned in to translate, then pleaded not guilty to the dozen charges against him.
Franklin County Common Pleas Magistrate Mark Petrucci set bond at $1 million.
An extensive, five-month Columbus Division of Police investigation was launched after a confidential informant told police about Montalvo. He said Montalvo, who also goes by “Mole Face,” was “the biggest heroin dealer in Columbus,” according to a 23-page search warrant turned in to Franklin County Municipal Court this week.
Authorities aren’t calling Montalvo the biggest dealer in the city, but they agree he is a major player in the drug market.
“This doesn’t mean we’re not going to have heroin in Columbus next week or next month,” Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Ron O’Brien told The Dispatch.
Montalvo and at least seven others deemed members of the Montalvo Drug Trafficking Organization are now facing charges after detectives used GPS to track their movements across city and state lines to show where drug deals were made. The drug supply in Columbus was traced back to Nayarit, Mexico. Suppliers stayed at a Red Roof Inn near the Brice Road interchange with I-70 on an almost monthly basis, paid in cash and made bi-monthly border crossings from Mexico, according to the warrant.
The case is a reminder that Columbus continues to be an epicenter of the heroin drug trade, with far-reaching implications.
Several of the defendants in the case have previous ties to other drug investigations, according to the search warrant. Members of the ring would drive cars to cities including Indianapolis and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and stay less than an hour before driving straight back to Columbus, according to the warrant.
Investigators tailed the suspects to a taco stand on the West Side to eavesdrop on discussions of drug deliveries. They sifted through bags of garbage and found vacuum-sealed bags with drug residue. They watched deals go down in car-wash stalls. All the cars drove away still dirty. They confiscated glass candles featuring Santa Muerte, or the saint of death, and Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, as part of the evidence. They found trading cards of cartel members.
Detectives followed one man to Easton, where he threw a garbage bag in a dumpster. The detective took the bag and found pieces of thick black plastic inside that had been cut to resemble a car part. When the pieces were placed together, the tape indentions resembled how kilos of drugs are wrapped, according to the warrant.
“He's taken many steps to elude law enforcement,” the prosecutor told the court, noting that Montalvo would pour bleach over kilo wrappers and packing materials.
O'Brien said the group was moving kilos on a regular basis and more than $50,000 was seized by Columbus police.
More charges are expected to be filed regarding seized firearms from the search warrants.