SAN ANTONIO – A combined local and federal effort resulted in four arrests of Texas Syndicate members on Wednesday, ending an investigation that's gone on for years.
Early Wednesday morning, heavily armed Bexar County deputies busted in on a suspected coke dealer. Mark Mena, 32, (pictured) was in bed when SWAT officers executed an arrest warrant at his home on the 500 block of Harlan.
They found 12 ounces of cocaine and at least $5,000.
The total street value of the haul is about $40,000.
Rudy "Pisto" Delgado, 57, and Mark "Dirty Boy" Nuncio, 27, were also arrested separately as part of an ongoing investigation into the Texas Syndicate gang. Manuel Mancha, 26, was already in federal custody.
Wednesday's arrests make 18 capital murder cases since Operation Broken Horn began. The Drug Enforcement Agency said these arrests, all under federal RICO statutes, are a first for the San Antonio district.
In a highly coordinated operation, officers made sure they don't go in blind against a skilled and dangerous opponent.
"We know in advance what we're going up against. There's a lot of planning involved, a lot of intelligence involved," said Lt. Darrell Sanders of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.
But the extra work, the DEA argued, pays off for community safety.
"The people of San Antonio should feel relieved today, that in fact we continue to take out these offenders," said Mauricio Fernandez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA branch in San Antonio.