Lutherville Man Among 28 Arrested for Honduran Cocaine Ring

A Lutherville resident was among a large group arrested for allegedly conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine in an interstate drug trafficking ring, federal investigators said.

A Vienna, VA man allegedly acted as a leader of a group that smuggled drugs into Northern Virginia and distributed it across the East Coast, and wired more than $1 million back to suppliers in Honduras over several years.

Twenty-eight people were charged with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine in connection with the case, officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigations announced Wednesday. 

Among those charged was Lutherville resident Rudy Humberto Tabaro, 30, (aka Rudy Humberto Tabara) for his alleged role in transporting drugs, according to investigators. Tabaro faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, U.S. Attorney's office spokesman Peter Carr said. 

Those arrested will remain in custody pending preliminary and detention hearings next week, scheduled for either Monday or Tuesday, Carr said. Indictments have not yet been handed down.

Tabaro, of Lutherville, who also went by "Colocho," was arrested in 2003 on two counts of assault in the second degree and carrying a deadly weapon with intent to injure. He was living in Baltimore City at the time of his arrest, according to online court records.

Melcy Yalexsy Guevara-Barrera, aka "Pedro" or "Primo," 35, of Vienna, was named in the case as one of four alleged leaders.

According to case documents, those charged—most of whom are Honduran immigrants who have lived in Northern Virginia for the past seven years—hired couriers to smuggle cocaine to the U.S., usually using wooden shoes or picture frames.  

Couriers carried luggage to conceal the items, such as food, clothing and Honduras-related trinkets, that would blend in with other cargo, according to case documents.

Once the drugs arrived in the United States, the leaders of the ring would distribute the drug across Northern Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina. Often, packages would be handed off among several couriers before reaching street-level dealers and sellers, according to the documents.

Each shoe typically contained 1.5 ounces of cocaine, and picture frames could hold up to 3 ounces. Agents have collected more than five kilograms of suspected cocaine, according to the documents.

The ring was discovered as a result of a search of one leader's home in August 2011. Investigators, including those from the Fairfax County Police Department, then conducted a number of searches and made controlled purchases from the orgainzation's leaders, including Barrera. Some of the sales occurred at private homes while others happened across the county. Informants told the agents that hand-offs or sales often occurred at a particular Jiffy Lube store.  The location of that business was not included in case documents.

For the past six years, some members of the conspiracy, employed at the Eden Center in Falls Church, have received cocaine to sell at the shopping plaza. 

Agents traced the ring to Honduras in part through wire taps on six cell phones, including two of Barrera's, since February. Officials are still monitoring some of those phones as part of the ongoing investigation.

Information discovered during the investigation also revealed possible  distribution of crack cocaine, money laundering and various firearm offenses. U.S. Attorney Office spokesman Carr said that there have been no additional charges yet related to those possible offenses.

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Lutherville-Timonium Patch editor Nick DiMarco contributed to this report.