The Humboldt County Drug Task Force announced March 19 that it had arrested Oscar Rocael Cruz-Ramos, 29, of Carlotta, after a four-month drug trafficking investigation that included the seizure of more than 2 pounds of cocaine and an array of firearms.
The investigation, which began with a tip from a paid confidential informant reporting a man named “Oscar” driving a black Toyota Tacoma was selling cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and firearms as part of a large drug trafficking organization, ultimately saw agents serve search warrants at six properties, including two in Fortuna. According to the task force, Cruz-Ramos was working for a drug trafficking organization based in Guatemala that is operating throughout Humboldt County.
A statement of probable cause filed in support of search warrants in the case offers a detailed narrative of the investigation, which saw undercover agents allegedly purchase cocaine and a firearm from Cruz-Ramos on the three occasions and conduct extensive surveillance operations, monitoring his movements and those of other alleged co-conspirators. The statement also details the alleged involvement of a Fortuna business.
In the statement, Humboldt County District Attorney Investigator and task force Special Agent Alan Aubuchon writes that on multiple occasions task force agents surveilled Cruz-Ramos as he traveled between the Fortuna restaurant where he worked, a house on High Street in Eureka that the task force believes to be involved in narcotics trafficking activity and a business in the 400 block of South Fortuna Boulevard.
“[The informant] told me that [the business] was owned by a group with ties to a cartel in Mexico,” Aubuchon’s statement says, adding the informant alleged multiple drug trafficking organizations use the money wire transfer service Intermex at the location “to send drug proceeds to Mexico or other states/countries.”
The Enterprise‘s attempts to reach the owner for comment were unsuccessful. No criminal charges have been filed against them.
The task force subpoenaed records from the business and allegedly confirmed Cruz-Ramos used its Intermix service to transfer funds to Guatemala “multiple times.” The document also notes that an agent personally witnessed suspected drug traffickers enter the business on numerous occasions and leave after a short period without having appeared to have made any purchases.
A press release from the task force notes that agents documented a total of $11 million sent in wire transfers from the business to locations in Mexico and Guatemala in 2024, which would equate to more than $30,000 a day.
According to Aubuchon’s statement, agents contacted another paid confidential informant who alleged that not only do drug trafficking organizations regularly send payments through the business’ Intermex service, but that it is complicit in making sure such payments do not get flagged for scrutiny.
“[The informant] said there is a threshold for the amount of money that can be wired at one time before a suspicious activity report is generated,” the statement says. “[The informant] knows people who provide large amounts of cash over the threshold from drug proceeds [the business] and ask the management to hold the currency for them and make multiple smaller wire transfers to avoid detection. [The informant] said the business will also provide a false name in the system as ‘the sender’ for the wire transfers.”
The task force reported finding money transfer receipts when it served search warrants at Cruz-Ramos’ home in Carlotta and a property on Fortuna’s Meadow Lane, where officers also reported finding eight firearms — including an AR-15. The investigation also resulted in the seizure of more than 250 pounds of processed cannabis and more than $250,000 in cash.
While Cruz-Ramos and Yamileth Rodas-Lairos, 26, who allegedly accompanied him to sell 2.2 pounds of cocaine to an undercover agent on March 14, are the only arrests made to date as a result of the investigation, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said that could change, as the case remains active.
“It’s a drug trafficking organization and we are intent to fully investigate the cartel’s involvement here in Humboldt County and all the potential players, so we are still actively investigating,” Honsal told The Enterprise. “Every case, we learn something new, and we will continue to follow up on those leads and there could be more activity in the future based on what we discover in this case.”
The investigation involved a host of local agencies, as well as agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Bureau of Land Management. Asked about whether the investigation may result in charges related to the money wire transfers, Honsal noted federal agencies were involved.
“We’ll continue to work with our federal partners regarding things that could be federal offenses,” he said, noting that agents are still working to sift through the reams of wire transfer receipts, cell phones and other documents seized as a part of the investigation. “As we know, these things reach beyond Humboldt County’s borders.”
Both Cruz-Ramos and Rodas-Lairos were booked into the county jail on suspicion of possessing narcotics for sale, drug trafficking, possessing marijuana for sale, conspiracy, committing a felony while armed, possessing a firearm without a license, manufacturing an assault weapon and removing identifying marks from a firearm.
Editor’s note: This story was first published in The Ferndale Enterprise.
Thadeus Greenson (he/him) is the Journal’s news editor. Reach him at (707) 442-1400, extension 321, or thad@northcoastjournal.com.
This article appears in Taco Week 2025.
