CONCORD, NH—Acting United States Attorney Michael Gunnison today announced that Juan Garcia Hernandez, 32, Marco Garcia, 45, Ciro Lopez Garcia, 43, Jose Cisneros, 43, and Janeth Sarmiento, 21, all of Manchester, New Hampshire, were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, working in conjunction with the Manchester Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, New Hampshire State Police, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections Division of Field Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the New England HIDTA.

The arrests were part of a three month investigation focused on the multi-kilogram distribution of cocaine in Manchester, New Hampshire. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized $230,000.00 in United States currency and two firearms. The investigation culminated on April 12, 2009, when law enforcement executed a search warrant at 4481 Brown Avenue, Manchester, New Hampshire, and seized 45 kilograms of cocaine and approximately $60,000.00.

All defendants have been charged in a criminal complaint with engaging in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and with possession of cocaine with the intention of distributing it. Engaging in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine with the intention of distributing it are violations of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and 846, and are punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than ten (10) years nor more that life.

The Safe Streets Gang Task Force initiative, part of the FBI's Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Program, was created to encourage coordinated crime fighting efforts among FBI field offices and our local law enforcement partners. The mission of the Safe Streets Gang Task Force is to effectively utilize task forces to investigate, locate, arrest, and prosecute subjects for serious federal and state crimes. These would include drug and weapons violations, armed robbery, bank robbery, kidnaping, and gang and drug-related violence. The successful blending of local and federal law enforcement resources and manpower have resulted in a well-coordinated investigative and prosecutive approach to convict and incarcerate dangerous offenders. Nationally, over 140 Safe Streets Gang Task Forces are currently in existence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office received official approval of the formation of a Safe Streets Gang Task Force as part of the District of New Hampshire’s Project Safe Neighborhoods/Operation G.R.I.P. program in November 2007. The Safe Streets Gang Task Force is jointly funded by the FBI and the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

Since its inception, the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force has conducted investigations which have resulted in over 80 arrests, the seizure of in excess of five (5) million dollars in controlled substances and the seizure of over 100 firearms.

A criminal complaint is only an allegation and not proof beyond a reasonable doubt of criminal conduct. As in all criminal cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.