ST. LOUIS – Pictures of seized drugs only tell part of the story of what federal agents cleared from the streets of St. Louis. Authorities say a father and son admitted dealing drugs, valuing in millions of dollars.
“This operation was dubbed ‘family business,’” Colin Dickey from the Drug Enforcement Administration told FOX 2 as he explained the dismantling of an elaborate network with international ties. “We found affiliation with the Sinaloa cartel in this investigation.”
53-year-old Gregory Dixson Jr., along with his son, 32-year-old Gregory Dixson III, were part of a multi-indictment drug crime case involving 16 defendants throughout the country.
The federal prosecutor in the case is U.S. Attorney Organized Crime Cxpert Jim Delworth.
“It was very sophisticated, so we had to use almost every investigative technique in the book to collect and develop evidence in order to take down the whole organization,” he said.
The case goes back almost a decade, with the Dixson’s admitting they sent drug couriers to Houston, Tx., for massive amounts of cocaine. The court record says it was a thousand pounds of cocaine, which has a street value of $13 million.
“(They were) dumping some of those proceeds into property—real estate, vehicles—that’s kind of how he was trying to hide or mask his illegal activity,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey explained.
That’s where the Internal Revenue Service came in.
“We follow the money, identify the assets and additionally those people that are involved in the criminal activity,” IRS Criminal Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge Melissa McFadden said.
The government seized several assets, including a custom gold Harley, a Dodge Challenger Demon, and a million-dollar Texas property.
Both defendants smiled big at the 30+ friends and family who came to watch the sentencings. The father received 15 years in prison, and the son got ten years, both under plea deals.
