Drug ring used pizza delivery business model, FBI says

TULSA — The FBI arrested four men and seized 4 pounds of suspected heroin as part of a two-year investigation into a drug ring that it said operated as a pizza delivery business.

“This network’s distribution model mirrors any nationally recognized pizza delivery chain such as Pizza Hut and Papa John’s,” according to a criminal complaint filed this week in federal court in Tulsa.

“Much like a pizza delivery chain, a (heroin) customer calls a ‘dispatcher,’ places an order, and receives their product within thirty (30) minutes,” the complaint reads.

After the “dispatcher” received an order, a delivery driver was then sent to a public business area with a high volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, according to the filing.

Locations included the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at 31st Street and Garnett Road, the QuikTrip at 51st Street and Sheridan Road, and the Walgreens at 51st Street and Memorial Drive, the FBI said.

After the customer and delivery driver acknowledged each other, the driver would then lead the customer to a nearby residential area, where both vehicles would park.

The customer would then enter the delivery driver’s vehicle, and the driver would then drive around in the neighborhood, making several turns to ensure they were not being followed by law enforcement, the FBI said.

Heroin sold in the operation was 1-gram balloons of $100 each.

The investigation into the operation began in October 2015 and included the FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and police departments from Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Oklahoma City.

The FBI infiltrated the heroin operation beginning in 2016 with undercover informants, then obtained a wiretap to the “dispatch phone” in May 2017, according to the filing.

Arrested earlier this week in the operation:

• Martin Esteban Flores, also known as Martin Esteban Flores-Gamez, 27, who allegedly was the leader of the organization and used a “dispatch phone” for delivery drivers

• Carlos “Tado” Gonzeles Rosales, 27

• Guillermo “Tono” Samuel Inda-Perez, also known as Antonio Mauro Inda-Ibarra, 25

• Eder “Sinaloa” Cervantes Garcia, also known as Jose Ramon Beltron Torres, 40

Garcia has a Tulsa address; the other three had no listed address or were designated as homeless. All were being held in the Tulsa Jail without bond on ICE holds.

Following the arrests, the FBI seized $1,232 in cash; more than 4 pounds of suspected heroin; scales, balloons and other drug paraphernalia; and notebooks with customer information and drug notations.

Calls to the FBI for comment were not immediately returned Wednesday.