Three Honduran men have been extradited to the Bay Area to face charges of selling opioids, including fentanyl, in San Francisco.
The U.S. attorney's office and the Drug Enforcement Agency said the three men were living lavish lifestyles back home from the money they earned dealing drugs in the Tenderloin.
"People will be held accountable if they're dealing drugs in the Tenderloin," U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey said. "The days of an open-air drug market where there's no accountability are over."
The three men, Jorge Alberto Viera-Chirinos, Mayer Benegas-Medina and Elmer Bonilla Matute, have already had their first appearance in federal court in San Francisco.
They were arrested in three separate communities in and around the Siria Valley in Honduras, which is a rural area north of the capital of Tegucigalpa.
Federal authorities shared photos from a ranch where one of the men was arrested which included San Francisco sports team logos on a branding iron, a home window and several articles of clothing.
"They are selling narcotics to make a profit, right?" DEA Special Agent Brian Clark said. "They are coming back down to Honduras and making lavish mansions, homes, cattle ranches, in order to create their lifestyle down there."
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The operation marks one of the first efforts by U.S. agents to coordinate with Honduran police.
According to the DEA, there were 150 local Honduran police officers who were part of the operation to arrest the three men.
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Honduran authorities said four more people are in custody awaiting extradition to the U.S.
Two of the men already extradited were previously arrested in San Francisco. They were released on bond and ordered to be under electronic monitoring but still managed to escape to Honduras.
The third was indicted and left the country before he was arrested.
They’re all back in San Francisco now.
