Major Lafayette, Louisiana Drug Bust Also Nabs 3 Mexican Nationals and 50 Guns

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) - A raid of three apartments in Lafayette nabbed three Mexican nationals, a lot of drugs, and several stolen weapons, Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber confirmed on Monday.

The raid, which was part of a multi-agency investigation between LPSO's Narcotics and SWAT units, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, targeted a group of suspects believed to be selling illegal drugs and weapons throughout Acadiana.

The raid took place in three apartments simultaneously, in an apartment building on Berlin Street in Lafayette, and three men were arrested.

"All three of these [men] are Mexican nationals," Garber said in a press briefing Monday morning. "All three of these are here illegally... They are living in our community, they are dealing drugs, and they were dealing guns."

The three men arrested were Daniel Paz Ibarra (46), Atanasio Rivera Alvarado (49), and Florentino Arriaga (47).

"In this case, we seized 50 firearms from this operation," Garber said. "Of the 50 firearms, six of them were stolen locally in various vehicle burglaries."

"Some people don't report guns whenever they're stolen," he added. "They don't always have the information or they don't always think they're going to be recovered, so I would suspect, based on my experience, that a significant number of these guns were stolen here locally."

The seized weapons did not include any automatic weapons, which Garber called "surprising" in his press conference. However, they did range in variety, and included handguns rifles, sawed-off shotguns, and illegal firearms suppressors. Among the narcotics recovered, there were more than 650 MDMA tablets, 130 grams of Marijuana, 57 grams of Cocaine, and small amounts of other illegal narcotics.

According to Garber, all three men had previous charges. Ibarra was arrested locally in November 2022 (the case is still pending with the district attorney's office). Alvarado was previously arrested on various traffic charges in 2007, and was "by all indications deported," Garber said.

Arriaga previously went through "removal proceedings," according to the sheriff, after an arrest in Dallas, Texas, in 1999.

Each man faces a host of new charges. For Ibarra:

• PWITD CDS I Marijuana (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II Crack Cocaine (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II Cocaine (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II MDMA (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II Crystal Methamphetamine (Felony)
• PWITD CDS IV Alprazolam (Felony)
• Poss. of a Firearm in the Presence of CDS (Felony)
• Poss. of a Legend Drug (Misdemeanor)
• Money from Drug Proceeds
• CDS in the Presence of a Juvenile
• Possession or Dealing in Unregistered or Illegally Transferred Weapons

Alvarado was charged with:

• PWITD CDS I Marijuana (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II Crack Cocaine (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II Cocaine (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II MDMA (Felony)
• PWITD CDS II Crystal Methamphetamine (Felony)
• PWITD CDS IV Alprazolam (Felony)
• Poss. of a Firearm in the Presence of CDS (Felony)
• Poss. of a Legend Drug (Misdemeanor)
• Money from Drug Proceeds
• CDS in the Presence of a Juvenile

And Arriaga was charged with:

• Poss. of Stolen Firearm (2 Counts)
• Poss. or Dealing in Unregistered or Illegally Transferred Weapons (3 Counts)

The investigation, however, is not over, Garber confirmed, as there are still several aspects of the case that the multiple agencies are combing through.