CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The final major defendant in the drug trafficking case dubbed operation smoke and mirrors pleaded guilty.
U.S. Attorney Will Thompson joined law enforcement on Sept. 24 to announce the guilty plea of Tres Avery Davis, 36, of Charleston.
Davis is among 31 convicted of federal crimes in a case that resulted in the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Davis pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl.
The major drug trafficking investigation resulted in law enforcement seizing well over 400 pounds of methamphetamine, 40 pounds of cocaine, three pounds of fentanyl, 19 firearms and $935,000 in cash.
The DTO used tractor-trailers to transport the drugs, often several hundred pounds for each trip, from the West Coast to the Southern District of West Virginia. The drugs were usually exchanged for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, which was delivered back to California.
“Investigators followed the trail of methamphetamine being sold here in Charleston and traced it all the way back to Los Angeles, California, and our southern border,” Thompson said. “The investigation revealed this organization was bringing methamphetamine across our southern border on pallets containing hundreds of pounds at a time.”
The shipments trucked to West Virginia included approximately 196 pounds of methamphetamine and 4 kilograms of cocaine driven from California to Bluefield in March 2023 by Ildiberto Gonzalez Jr. In exchange for that shipment, Gonzalez received a box that he believed contained approximately $400,000 as payment. Gonzalez was driving away from the transaction when law enforcement pulled him over and seized his 2009 Freightliner semi-truck with attached trailer.
“Operation Smoke and Mirrors marked the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history, however the FBI’s work, and that of our local, state, and federal partners, is far from finished,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek. “Today’s sentencing sends a message. To those who think southern West Virginia can be a place to traffic dangerous drugs, know that we are using every tool at our disposal to rid our communities of these substances. Our neighborhoods, businesses, schools, and streets deserve to be free of this poison, and the men and women of the FBI remain fiercely committed to that mission.”
With today’s guilty plea, Davis admitted that he delivered approximately 2,000 blue pills containing fentanyl to a Kemp Avenue residence in Charleston on March 7, 2023. Law enforcement seized the pills at the residence on March 9, 2023. Davis admitted that he intended to distribute at least some of these pills to other people. Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least eight years of supervised release, and an $8 million fine.
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