Gillette woman wanted, dozens arrested in meth distribution case

Federal officials are searching for a Gillette woman for her alleged involvement in a Mexican drug cartel’s international conspiracy to distribute meth.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Southern California said in a press release that by the end of the day Tuesday, police had arrested 33 of the 43 people charged in the case and seized roughly 80 pounds of meth, four guns and more than $100,000 cash.

Billie Jo Reynolds, 40, of Gillette, was one of 10 people law enforcement agencies were still looking for. The statement did not specify what Reynolds’ involvement was, only that she was a fugitive.

Chris McDonald with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation said his department has been working with the Drug Enforcement Administration on the case.

“We’re aware she’s a fugitive and we’re actively looking for her,” he said.

Of the 43 defendants, only five of them, including Reynolds, are not from California.

U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Arkansas, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas have charged people in connection to the case, as well as the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Yuma County Attorney’s Office in Arizona, according to the press release.

The distribution network, based in San Diego, supplied meth and GHB, a Schedule I depressant that also is used as a “date rape” drug, to dozens of distributors throughout the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.

In return, tens of thousands of dollars in narcotics proceeds were returned to the network’s leaders via shipments of bulk cash, structured cash deposits into bank accounts, and online money transfer systems like PayPal, Zelle, Venmo and Cash App.

The drug shipments were mailed weekly to hotels, homes and Airbnb locations. Defendants also created fraudulent FedEx accounts, which were billed to and paid for by large companies in the hopes that these large businesses wouldn’t notice the packages.

Agents obtained dozens of search warrants and a six-months-long federal wiretap to track the defendants. Along with this, they seized about 78 pounds of meth and four firearms tied to the network.

“Today we have completely dismantled this San Diego-based international drug trafficking network with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer in a written statement. “Replicating this kind of aggressive law enforcement takedown is critical to breaking the backs of these criminal networks and continuing our efforts against the Sinaloa Cartel.”

“Without their distribution networks, such as the one dismantled today, cartels would not be able to operate drug businesses that rival Fortune 500 companies and dangerous drugs, like methamphetamine, would be scarce, expensive and of low purity,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Karen Flower in the press release. “The operation today will ultimately disrupt the supply chain, diminish profits and make it harder for the Sinaloa Cartel to do business in the United States.”

This is not the first time Reynolds has been involved in meth distribution.

In 2003, Reynolds pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute about 3 pounds of meth. Two years later, she pleaded guilty to distributing 1.3-2.6 kilograms of meth and received a 120-month federal prison sentence. She was part of a drug ring that distributed 91 pounds of meth in Campbell County, worth between $4 million and $5.8 million, according to court documents.

Reynolds was released from federal prison prison in 2007, according to online Bureau of Prisons records, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.