Montco Woman Pleads Guilty In Multi-State Meth Trafficking Ring

NORRISTOWN, PA — A local woman has pleaded guilty to helping operate a crystal methamphetamine trafficking ring which worked in multiple states across the country, including Montgomery County.

Lorraine Zeno, 37, of Ambler, was one of what law enforcement termed "The Big Five" trafficking suspects arrested in Jan. 2018. The group shipped more than 350 pounds of meth and marijuana from California to Montgomery County, officials said.

This week, Zeno admitted guilt in Montgomery County Court to counts of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and marijuana, corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful acts, and related charges.

Zeno will be sentenced on May 2. She faces up to decades in prison.

In addition to Zeno, another of the "Big Five" was an Ambler native: 43-year-old Brian J. Holt. Three suspects from California filled out the group: Leonardo Fernandez, 34, of Monrovia, Joel Travis Hills-Garcia, 29, of Santa Clarita, and Patrick M. Fry, 43, of Saugus.

During the same bust, fifteen lower level associates of these five were either arrested or are being sought by police.

The investigation first began when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service identified a suspicious parcel that had been shipped to Montgomery County from California, authorities said. After obtaining a warrant, the package was opened. It contained a pound of meth.

Police soon learned that the suspects in California were producing the drugs and sending them to Zeno and Holt, who were in turn selling them to numerous dealers through Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia counties. Months of wiretaps and close investigation led to the arrests.

Authoritites said last year that meth was making a "resurgence" in Montgomery County, with increased dealing and overdoses over the past two to three years.

Zeno remains in Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $500,000 bail.