Federal prosecutors unsealed a 30-count indictment Tuesday charging 11 Venezuelan and Colombian nationals in a sprawling multi-state trafficking operation that allegedly involved the sexual exploitation of at least two victims, the distribution of controlled substances, and the illegal movement of firearms across state lines.
Ten of the defendants were arrested during coordinated operations Tuesday in Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida. One remains at large. According to the Justice Department, 10 of the 11 accused are currently in the country without legal authorization.
The investigation, led by a Homeland Security Task Force, centered on a conspiracy spanning from July through August 2025. Prosecutors allege that four of the defendants coordinated across multiple states to traffic victims for sex while simultaneously operating drug and weapons distribution networks.
According to court filings, the defendants operated a commercial sex trafficking operation centered in central Ohio. They allegedly created and maintained online advertisements promoting commercial sexual services, then transported victims across state lines to facilitate exploitation. The conspiracy involved at least six defendants based in the Columbus and Hilliard areas, with additional defendants operating from Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida and Mexico.
The firearms trafficking component reveals a secondary criminal enterprise running parallel to the sex trafficking scheme. Prosecutors allege that members of the group illegally distributed at least nine firearms and that some defendants possessed guns in violation of federal law governing non-citizens.
The drug trafficking charges center on the distribution of ecstasy (MDMA).
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said: "These defendants — 10 of whom are currently illegally present in this country — allegedly engaged in a panoply of illicit trafficking activity, from drugs to firearms to human beings. We have no tolerance for anybody who commits such crimes in our communities, and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."
FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie added that the bureau would continue efforts "to keep Ohio safe and get narcotics, firearms and violent criminals off the streets."
The indictment names six defendants with Ohio addresses: Venezuelan nationals Jean Pierre Alejandro Guillen Salcedo, 30, and Taidin Adreina Ferrer Guillen, 34, both of Hilliard; Pedro Angel Colls-Flores, 34, and Alismar Daniela Contreras-Arevalo, 20, both of Columbus; and Colombian nationals Briyi Daniela Ordonez-Iter, 21, of Hilliard, and Julian David Patino Pena, 33, of Columbus.
Two additional Venezuelan defendants, John Alexandre Fajardo-Ulzcategui, 27, and Jose Ruben Sanchez-Pena, 34, are based in Smyrna, Tennessee. The remaining defendants are Keivar Elian Guillen Salcedo, 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Therry Brayant Leon Gavida, 34, of Jacksonville, Florida; and Dervin Alejandro Colmenares Quintero, 29, listed as residing in Mexico.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law. The indictment represents only allegations at this stage.
