The raid was the result of a three month-long investigation and netted $200,000 worth of cocaine, $180,000 in cash, and an assortment of shotguns, handguns, and assault rifles.
Mexican nationals Zacarias Gomes Espinosa, 34; Jorge Rivera Albarran, 47; and Esteban Rivera, 18; were all charged with trafficking cocaine, and possession of firearms by an unlawful alien.
Christopher Jerome Elleby, 29, and Roberto Fonesca, 30, were both charged with trafficking cocaine as well.
In recent years, the Myrtle Beach area has become inundated with illegal aliens, lured by jobs in the hotel and restaurant industry. Consequently, the area has experienced an explosion in drug and gang activity.
The FBI's National Gang Task Force Director Robert Clifford, said: “The migrant moves and the gang follows. If you follow the construction trade, that is where a lot of these immigrants go.”
