Nashville Cops Bust Massive Meth-Fentanyl Ring from California

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the biggest methamphetamine takedown in Nashville history, Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch announced the breakup of a trafficking ring shipping an estimated 5,000 pounds of meth from California over recent years. The six-month-plus investigation, launched Nov. 25, 2022, after FedEx flagged seven suspicious parcels from Toluca Lake, California, to North Nashville and Antioch addresses, led to the seizure of more than 800 pounds of crystal meth and 24 pounds of fentanyl. A Davidson County grand jury indicted 13 people on charges including drug conspiracies, distribution and gun crimes.

Francisco Velasquez Serrano, 34, of La Puente, California, stands accused as the primary meth supplier, having traveled to Nashville as recently as September to deliver drugs via box truck to a storage unit at 512 26th Ave. North, where agents seized 311 pounds of meth and nearly 13 pounds of fentanyl on Sept. 26. Extradited to Nashville last week, Serrano joins local leaders James Maurice Butler, 24, and Jeffrey Carl Jones, 40, both of Nashville, who allegedly ran separate distribution cells handling shipments, storage and street sales. Other charged include Kenneth Lawrence, 39, Kendrick Thompson, 42, and Christopher Daniels, 25, all of Nashville; Aleah Steele, 24, of Antioch; and Shaquarya Fleming, 25, of Nashville.

Raids netted 47.5 pounds of meth, 7.6 pounds of fentanyl, 6.5 pounds of marijuana, 172 grams of Ecstasy and six guns, with fugitives Juannae Piero, Timothy L. Batts and Stephen Hicks still at large. The MNPD Specialized Investigations Division and TBI's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force drove the effort, which Chief Drake linked to drugs originating near the Mexico border. Separate multi-county operations in Davidson, Rutherford and Sumner counties seized 161 pounds of meth, 21 pounds of cocaine, 8 pounds of fentanyl, marijuana, 10 firearms including a fully automatic AR-15, and over $700,000 cash, involving Hendersonville police, the 18th Judicial District Drug Task Force and DEA.