(New Buffalo, MI) - A New Buffalo man was the focus of an investigation resulting in the arrests of eight suspected members of a Midwest drug ring. U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Michigan recently announced the charges on November 5. 

 

Authorities said that Ivan Huerta Hernandez, 32, is accused of having drug trafficking operations based in New Buffalo and sources in Chicago to receive the cocaine originating in Mexico.

 

Authorities said Hernandez, who lives at Behner Road, distributed the drugs to western Michigan and northern Indiana dealers. All of the arrests were made on November 3 by approximately 90 law enforcement officers from various departments.

 

About two kilograms of suspected cocaine along with just under $100,000 in cash and two firearms were seized after search warrants were executed in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.

 

Donald Rogers, 62, also of New Buffalo, was among the men taken into custody. Also arrested were Juan Martinez Camarillo, 36, and Santiago Cardenas, 41, both of Michigan City, and Manuel Eudave of LaPorte.  

 

The rest of the men charged are Marcus Johnson, 42, of Benton Harbor, Adrian Romero Antunez, 35, of Chicago, and Henry Nichols, 41, of Greenville, South Carolina.

 

The federal Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force began the investigation in 2020. Authorities said that many agencies assisted in the probe, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Services, and the Berrien County Sheriff's Office.

 

The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Michigan also has jurisdiction over federal crimes in 49 Michigan counties, including the entire state's Upper Peninsula.