Taco trucks with cartel ties served as drug trafficking sites, SC officials say

Simone Jasper
·2 min read

Restaurant owners trafficked drugs from their taco trucks as part of a “large scale” operation, South Carolina officials said.

An investigation centered on Los Primos, a Greenville restaurant that prosecutors said was also home to drug activity.

“Many of the drugs were allegedly trafficked right out of the restaurant, while more were allegedly trafficked out of taco trucks owned by the owners of the restaurant,” the S.C. Attorney General’s office said May 18 in a news release. “This restaurant would eventually serve as a regional hub through which cocaine and methamphetamine were allegedly trafficked to other states.”

Now, at least 34 people are facing charges in the case involving the restaurant, which officials say has ties to Mexican cartels.

McClatchy News left voicemails at phone numbers listed for Los Primos to request comment from the restaurant but didn’t get an immediate response on May 18.

Officials said the operation tied to Los Primos focused on trafficking drugs in South Carolina’s Upstate region but also reached other parts of the state.

“While this organization has ties from Mexico to numerous cities in the United States, its drug trafficking efforts and locations in Greenville County were continuing to pump poison directly into our communities,” 13th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins said in the news release.

Through working with state and federal agencies, officials seized more than 1,200 pounds of cocaine. Meth, guns and about $63,000 in cash were also taken off the streets in South Carolina, and additional drugs bound for the state were discovered in Georgia, according to prosecutors.

An investigation into the case — which officials nicknamed Los Banditos — also reportedly led to more than 124 criminal charges, including those related to guns and firearms. The indictments came from a state grand jury.

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