Eighteen individuals who owned and worked at a local restaurant have been charged with operating a drug operation out of their business and selling cocaine and fentanyl to dozens of individuals each day.
Owners and staff of PR House have been charged with a series of felonies in connection with a multi-year investigation into alleged drug trafficking activity at the restaurant, which was located at 7343 Lake Underhill Road.
Previously known as Tu Casa Boricua, the sheriff’s office claims the business has been a haven for illicit drug transactions, firearms dealings, and gambling for over 15 years.
“CrimeLine has received tips about PR House, its predecessor businesses, and persons associated with the business concerning drug activity, firearms and gambling for over 15 years,” reads a statement that was issued Wednesday by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
OCSO says deputies and detectives have investigated the business and made numerous arrests and seizures of illegal drugs over the years. Between June 2021 and March 2022, OCSO says it found drugs on 79 individuals during stops as the patrons were leaving the bar.
“The drugs all had similar packaging and markings indicating they all were from the same source. The drugs tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl,” reads the statement from OCSO.
Law enforcement authorities conducted an undercover operation inside the bar and purchased “drugs with similar packing and markings,” according to OCSO.
Over the summer, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration initiated a new investigation with OCSO, with the “goal of identifying and developing charges on the owners and operators of PR House,” according to the statement.
OCSO says the ensuing investigation led to the discovery that PR House was selling “cocaine to between 60-80 people each day.”
“Customers would enter PR House, stay for a few minutes, purchase cocaine and either ingest it on the property or leave with it,” reads OCSO’s statement.
Authorities say the owners of the restaurant were looking to expand to “other businesses and food trucks to use as locations to sell narcotics.”
Through the investigation, 18 members of the enterprise have been charged:
Rosa Maria Lopez, Jose Eduardo Rivera Lopez, Anibal Lopez, Milton Alfaro Lopez, Edgardo F. Maldonado Colon, Javier Dominguez Perez, Nelson Figueroa, Joel Santiago, Jose Francisco Flores Vargas, Pedro G. Mendez Santiago, Luis Daniel Vargas Barbosa, Asia Shavon Bauza, Yander Maykel Perez Tamayo, Vanessa Marrero, Ana Versi Cosme, Osvaldo Casamayor, Maria J. Torres Rodriguez, Ismalee Gotay Moya
Charges range from racketeering and armed trafficking in cocaine to possession of a place used to manufacture a controlled substance with a minor present, among others.
On November 3, search warrants were executed at seven locations that were suspected of being used to store and process the narcotics used in the operation.
Over nine kilos of cocaine have been seized during the investigation, along with 13 firearms, according to OCSO.