U.S. Attorney's Office Press Conference regarding Drug Ring Arrests
11/10/2021
Today, Logan County Sheriff Jason W. Massey participated in a virtual press conference with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Fort Smith, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and several state and local law enforcement agencies in regards to our participation in a drug trafficking and money laundering investigation in the River Valley from September 2019 to September 2020. Twenty-two individuals were arrested and sentenced for a total of 206 years for this investigation.
In the Paris area, the Logan County Sheriff's Office and the Paris Police Department teamed together in the investigation of Benjamin Valdez. This investigation linked him with the federal investigation into a large, River Valley-based drug trafficking organization led by Manuel "Chuy" De Jesus Perez-Echeverria, which is linked to a major Mexican drug cartel. The result of this investigation led to federal drug delivery charges against Benjamin Valdez. He ultimately plead guilty to 12 counts of Distribution of Methamphetamines and was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. There is no federal parolee so he will spending that amount of time in prison.