HOUSTON, Texas — Officials have busted a million-dollar car theft ring in Houston run by a dangerous Mexican drug cartel — and nabbed three migrant members of the crew including one who snuck into the US illegally and has a long rap sheet.
Mexican nationals Edgar Bravo, Jesus Gutierrez-Escamilla and Bernando Fernandez-Pereyda were accused Thursday of helping operate the chop shop ring under the control of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents obtained by The Post.
Sources said Gutierrez-Escamilla entered the US illegally at an unknown date over a dozen years ago and has since been in and out of law enforcement custody.
ICE documents show he arrested in 2012 and subsequently convicted of trespassing. He only served a 20-day jail sentence and was back out on the streets.
He was then arrested for a traffic violation in 2016, but not deported, as ICE noted in his case file that he didn’t “meet any priorities for enforcement.”
Fernandez-Pereyda meanwhile, was apprehended by Border Patrol in March 2023, though ICE records do not show how that case was adjudicated.
During Thursday raid, the Harris County Sheriff’s office recovered 14 stolen vehicles with fraudulent titles at three Houston-area chop shops.
“It was pretty much a smooth round-up. We did have one person that fled. We were able to get him in custody. But it was a pretty smooth execution. We did use our SWAT team and they’re pretty good at what they do and was able to secure everyone,” Saul Suarez, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said.
Ray Donovan, who retired as the DEA chief of operations in April 2023, told The Post that the cartels and their associates dabble in various forms of crime, not just drug manufacturing and trafficking. It is suspected that the car theft ring also involved human trafficking.
“You have a network of drug distributors all throughout the US and in Houston and they receive massive fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico. They’re also involved in other criminal activities besides just the distribution and trafficking of drugs,” Donovan said.
Donovan described Houston as being a “hub for the cartels.”
“It’s just a massive point of transshipment, it’s also like a brokering place. So dope goes into Houston, it’ll go to Atlanta, it’ll go to Chicago,” Donovan said.
Earlier this week, the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Texas announced the arrests of 23 people tied to Jalisco New Generation involved in a vast drug smuggling operation partially based Houston.
The group allegedly smuggled narcotics into the US, distributing the illicit drugs from Houston and Galveston to other locations throughout the country.
There are still warrants out for the arrests of the leader of the drug trafficking ring and 15 other fugitives.
