Feds charge 42 people tied to Poway gang with alleged drug distribution

Forty-two alleged members and associates of a San Diego County gang have been indicted on charges of distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday.

At a press conference, the office announced the arrests of suspects connected to the Varrio Hidden Hills street gang based in the Poway neighorhood of the same name.

Photos were released to the media showing weapons and wrapped blocks of drugs confiscated at different locations around the county. Sales and distribution reportedly happened in communities from Oceanside and Escondido to El Cajon and Chula Vista.

Early Wednesday morning FBI agents served warrants at a Lemon Grove house where they were fired on by one of the accused gang members. No one was hurt in the shooting, but we now know the operation was part of the county-wide investigation.

“These drug trafficking networks have no bounds,” said Mark Remily, FBI Special Agent In Charge of the San Diego office. “We’re going to see that ripple effect across the entire region. Criminals operate in all kinds of fashions. Some are more brazen, others are more discrete. This organization was a little more discreet in how they operate,” Remily told NBC 7.

34 of the suspects are already in federal custody.

The takedown came after a two-year investigation into the Poway-based gang with alleged connections to the Mexican Mafia.

Among those arrested was John Marquez, a high-ranking member of the Poway gang, who is accused of running cross-border drug distribution operations.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Marquez received drugs largely from Mexico-based suppliers, had people from various San Diego County gangs distribute the substances, then transported drug money profits back to his Mexican suppliers.

San Diego U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said the investigation into the shooting was ongoing.

Federal agents are still tracking down the remaining eight suspects. They say they expect to have them all arrested within the next few days.