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Big Cocaine Drug Ring Leads Lubbock Undercover Operation to Odessa

An undercover drug operation out of Lubbock spanning months and carrying over multiple cities..brought agents all the way to Odessa. It all started with a drug deal between an undercover cop and a group of people in Lubbock trying to sell him some kilos of cocaine for a good chunk of money, about $165,000.
Anum Valliani
NewsWest 9

ODESSA - An undercover drug operation out of Lubbock spanning months and carrying over multiple cities brought agents all the way to Odessa.

It all started with a drug deal between an undercover cop and a group of people in Lubbock trying to sell him some kilos of cocaine for a good chunk of money, about $165,000.

The SWAT team came to the scene of the exchange, which was at a grocery store parking lot, and took the suspects in.

Nine people, including Martin Gutierrez, 46, and Manuel Carillo, 38, of Odessa were charged with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 5 Kilograms of Cocaine.

From Lubbock the investigation led to Odessa where officials executed multiple search warrants including one at a house on the 400 block of Mescalero. Reports indicate that nearly 350 grams of cocaine were seized on the property.

Here the focus was on co-conspirator, and supposed king pin, Javier Lujan and his daughter Gisselle Lujan. Documents indicate when authorities showed up at their house, they discovered the cocaine in Lujan's bedroom along with multiple empty kilogram wrappers. But no Lujan.

NewsWest 9 went to the area to talk to residents about the news and to learn more about Lujan, but most people were camera shy about the topic. One new resident in the neighborhood who wanted to remain anonymous did open up, and told us she felt uneasy after hearing the news.

"I had never heard anything about this. I just moved here and this is the first time I heard about this, and it's very intimidating. It's simply alarming and I'm worried about this there's a lot of people living here," she said.

But there's more. Investigators also traced a stash to a unit at the Colonial Self Storage Facility used by Lujan. Inside number 91, officials confiscated another 220 grams of cocaine, some money, and a map to their next clue to finding Lujan- literally, it was a map to Borger, Texas.

That stop led to another of Lujan's homes where nearly $200,000 in drug money was scattered throughout the bedroom and inside walls.

Lujan was reportedly arrested in Allen, Texas on April 1st. Reports state that he admitted to it all, and has entered a plea bargain where he can face up to 10 years in prison without parole and a $10 million fine.

"I'm worried for the whole world. For the people here who have children and teenagers because it's a drug that's circulating and the teenagers are so easily corrupted and it's worrying," the woman said.

All said and done, federal agents recovered 13 kilos of cocaine, hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash, and a couple hands full of firearms.

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