| National Guard assists in major drug bust |
By Sgt. 1st Class Kimberly D. Snow Adjutant General's Department, Ohio National Guard GREENSBORO, N.C. - The package appeared innocuous enough. It was wrapped in a red tarp and secured to the pallet with yellow canvas tie-down straps with two green blowers resting on top, all in the shades you might find in a crayon box of primary colors. The image taped to the side displayed an inflatable “jumper,” the kind normally seen at carnivals or festivals, with kids bouncing and playing inside. *** COLUMBUS, Ohio - Maj. Mitchell Gargac answered the phone in his Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Task Force office at Rickenbacker Army Enclave around 10 a.m. April 14. On the other end of the line was an agent from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). Could the Ohio National Guard lend assistance in a major sting operation? The BCI agent had been contacted by a counterpart in North Carolina after local law enforcement officers intercepted and confiscated a shipment containing nearly 1,000 pounds of marijuana that originated in Texas and was bound for Jackson, Ohio. After discovering the narcotics, they called in the state bureau of investigation, which began coordinating a joint task force with Ohio. The resulting joint sting operation would ultimately result in the largest-ever drug bust in Jackson County, Ohio, history. The plan was to attempt a controlled delivery to the Jackson address to nab the suspects, but the package had to arrive on time in order to avoid suspicion. The only way to get the product to Ohio on time was by air, so they called Gargac. After collecting information from the BCI agent, Gargac quickly determined the requirements for National Guard involvement—the operation was ongoing, time-sensitive and included a counterdrug connection—had been met. He immediately called the National Guard Bureau’s Joint Emergency Operations Center to submit a formal request for assistance. “The process is really streamlined,” Gargac said. “We literally got approval for this mission in about 15-20 minutes.” In that time, an aircrew and C-130 cargo airplane from the Charleston-based 130th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard, was identified as available and had offered to fly the mission. They would even fly to Columbus first and pick up the local law enforcement officers and Ohio National Guardmember who would take the quick one-hour flight to Greensboro to take delivery of and escort the package back to Ohio. Meanwhile, Gargac received a call from North Carolina law enforcement officers who identified a snag in transportation—they had no assets to transport the package to the airport. Gargac called his counterparts in the North Carolina Counterdrug Task Force and requested their assistance in transporting it to the airport and loading it on the aircraft. They quickly agreed. “Guardsmen are all over the country working the counterdrug mission, so we can reach out and touch them,” Gargac said. “We’re all trying to take the drugs off the street. It goes with our community mission. And it’s great when you’re training and supporting these kinds of operations at the same time.” Around 11 a.m. April 15, the West Virginia C-130 arrived at Rickenbacker International Airport to pick up the passengers. Among them was Chief Deputy James E. Ephlin, a 38-year veteran police officer, with the last eight at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Ephlin would be assisting in the controlled delivery and subsequent raid. He was excited. “I’ve never had a bust this big,” Ephlin said. “This is way over what we normally see—30 to 40 pounds is normal, but nothing like this.” The flight down and back took less than three hours and by 2 p.m. the brightly-colored package containing the drugs and disguised as an inflatable carnival ride, was on the back of a truck and back on track for delivery to its original destination. But this time, the package was being delivered by sheriff’s deputies. The following day, Jackson County officers along with the Columbus Police Department South Central, BCI, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and U.S. Customs agents conducted the controlled delivery. Three men at the Jackson Hill Road home met the truck carrying the brightly-colored package. The men, Roger Baisden, 44, and Ronnie Baisden, 49, the target home’s residents, as well as Mark Morelock, 51, also of Jackson, were taken into custody. While executing a search warrant at the home, officers received an unexpected, but welcome windfall. “In the afternoon, we had a second truck arrive with a second package,” Ephlin said. “It looked just like the first one. In addition, we were lucky to catch two of the Texas guys sitting at the Red Roof Inn here in Jackson. We now have them in jail also.” The men, Leonel A. Pena, 35, and Armando Gonzalez, 47, both of Rio Grande City, Texas, are being held at the Jackson County Jail. All suspects are awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and aggravated drug trafficking. The operation ultimately netted an estimated $4.4 million in marijuana. -30- |
