JNET arrests six, takes $30,000 worth of meth off streets

Six people were arrested and over a pound of meth was confiscated after investigators from the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, along with officers the Columbus Police Department, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, United States Postal Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as well as the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) served a search warrant Wednesday night at a Columbus home in the 100 block of South Mapleton Street.

Columbus Police say the search warrant was a result of an ongoing investigation into illegal narcotic sales in Columbus and Bartholomew County. During a search of the home, officers recovered 1.5 pounds of

methamphetamine with a street value of over $30,000, along with three guns.

Arrested were::

David Oswaldo Cornejo, 41, of Columbus – Dealing in Methamphetamine (Level 2 Felony), Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony), Maintaining a Common Nuisance (Level 6 Felony)

Fernando Lopez-Mendez, 37, of Columbus – Dealing in Methamphetamine (Level 2 Felony), Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony), Maintaining a Common Nuisance

Mirna Benitez-Paz, 42, of Columbus – Maintaining a Common Nuisance (Level 6 Felony)

Isabel Benitez-Paz, 38, of Columbus – Maintaining a Common Nuisance (Level 6 Felony)

Michell Vasqez Benitez, 19, of Columbus – Visiting a Common Nuisance (Class B Misd.)

Rogelio Moreno Benitez, 19, of Columbus: Visiting a Common Nuisance (Class B Misd.)

The investigation into the sale of illegal drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County continues.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, is proactively targeting the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County.