A drug trafficking ring that spanned coast to coast was busted Wednesday after investigators in Pennsylvania took down a meth and marijuana operation that originated in Santa Clarita.

Law enforcement officials announced the dismantling of a multi-state drug trafficking organization that used the U.S. Postal Service to mail packages of crystal methamphetamine and marijuana from California, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

The drug smuggling operation dates back to at least April 2016, said officials.

Through the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials identified what they believed to be more than 350 pounds of illegal crystal methamphetamine and marijuana sent in multiple shipments, according to prosecutors.

The suspects, dubbed the “Big Five” include two from the Santa Clarita Valley: 29-year-old Travis Hills-Garcia of Santa Clarita and 43-year-old Patrick M. Fry of Saugus.

The remaining leaders of the drug smuggling operation were Lorraine Y. Zeno, 36, and Brian J. Holt, 42, both of Ambler, Pennsylvania, and Leonardo Christian Fernandez, 34, of Monrovia.

The arrests were the result of a multi-agency investigation involving the Montgomery County Detective Bureau Narcotics Enforcement Team, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and local law enforcement in Pennsylvania.

“Through the joint efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies, we were able to shut down a significant drug trafficking organization that was operating in Southeastern Pennsylvania and work our way back to their suppliers in California,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele. “This investigation again illustrates that law enforcement is united in our fight against deadly drugs of all kinds—heroin, opioids, fentanyl, methamphetamine and pills.”

These arrests were the culmination of a lengthy joint investigation, which began when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service identified a suspicious Express Mail parcel shipped from California to Montgomery County, Pa.

With the authority of a federal search and seizure warrant, the USPIS discovered that the parcel contained approximately one pound of crystal methamphetamine, according to the D.A.

The joint investigation was launched soon after and ultimately found cross-country shipments of bulk quantities of crystal methamphetamine and marijuana to members of the Zeno-Holt drug trafficking organization, said officials.

“Investigators learned that the shipments received were then sold to other drug dealers and individuals across Montgomery and Bucks counties and Philadelphia,” said a statement. “From Southeastern Pennsylvania, this corrupt organization headed by Zeno and Holt, sent illegal proceeds for the shipments of crystal methamphetamine and marijuana to Fernandez, Hills-Garcia, Fry and others in California.”

Court-authorized wiretaps on the cell phones of Zeno, Holt and Fernandez provided enough evidence to Montgomery County detectives and other participating law enforcement agencies to identify the sources of supply in California, said prosecutors.

Investigators also learned the identities of Zeno and Holt’s crystal meth customers, many of whom were also drug dealers.

The defendants were arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Patricia Zaffarano, who set bail for each defendant at $500,000 in cash, said officials.

Fry and Hills-Garcia were arrested in California. They will be extradited to Montgomery County to face charges, according to prosecutors.

Fifteen additional people were arrested or are being sought by law enforcement in this case, on charges ranging from possession to possession with intent to deliver.

“Meth is deadly and cheap. And it is flowing into Montgomery County from California, in this case using the U.S. Postal Service and other carriers,” said Steele. “Drug traffickers make the false assumption that using the mail or hiding drugs in car batteries will keep them safe from detection. They are wrong. And we are on to them.”

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