Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal jury returned guilty verdicts on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, against Defendant Alvaro Orosco, 36, of Visalia, California, following a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent in Cleveland. Orosco was convicted of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that sought to distribute more than ten kilograms, or 22 pounds, of cocaine and heroin in the Canton area.
Orosco was one of 15 defendants charged in a conspiracy to bring large amounts of cocaine and heroin from Mexico and California to the Canton area between August 2016 and April 2019. According to court documents, in April of 2019, Orosco traveled from California to Cleveland, Ohio, to retrieve ten kilograms of cocaine hidden in a compartment of a vehicle shipped from California to Massillon, Ohio. Law enforcement officers with the Illinois State Police Department intercepted the vehicle and turned the drugs over to the FBI, who replaced the drugs with a fake substance and arrested Orosco when he opened the hidden compartment.
Orosco is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2022.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Canton Police Department, Illinois State Police Department, MEDWAY Drug Enforcement Agency and Massillon Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter E. Daly.