Police Make Three Arrests, Seize Over 80 Pounds Of Meth In Colony Ridge Drug Bust

Police busted a methamphetamine distribution operation in Colony Ridge, a sprawling land development north of Houston, Texas that uses legally questionable tactics to attract illegal immigrants.

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit seized 86 pounds of crystal methamphetamine that was intended for distribution and arrested three suspects after a brief pursuit.

Colony Ridge is estimated to have anywhere from 45,000 to 75,000 residents, and sprawls across roughly 60 square miles, making it nearly the size of Washington, D.C. The development has become infamous for advertising and offering financing to illegal immigrants, and now faces lawsuits from the Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The three suspects, Misael Jaramillo, Cesar Patino, and Martha Julissa Martinez, were arrested after Patino allegedly attempted to escape and rammed his vehicle into police vehicles. Patino also allegedly threw a handgun out of the vehicle before being arrested. Jaramillo allegedly attempted to escape authorities before also being apprehended.

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office went to Jaramillio’s Colony Ridge residence, which law enforcement said was being used as a meth laboratory following Patino and Jaramillo’s arrests. The officers searched the property and reportedly found cocaine, weapons, and more meth, which Martha Julissa Martinez reportedly attempted to hide from authorities prior to her arrest. Martinez was then arrested at the residence.

READ MORE: Inside Colony Ridge: The ‘Fastest Growing Development’ In The U.S. Is A Magnet For Illegal Immigrants

The Colony Ridge drug bust comes just months after two illegal immigrant murder suspects who lived in the development were arrested by the Splendora Police Department. One of the two murder suspects, Juan Jose Valero Cruz, had already been deported from the United States twice and was slated to be deported a third time after his arrest, the Department of Homeland Security stated.

Colony Ridge came under scrutiny late last year after a teen was allegedly abducted at gunpoint inside the development and shot at after he fled from the kidnappers.

In addition to the lawsuits, Colony Ridge also faces an ongoing investigation from the Environmental Protection Agency, with reports indicating that the Internal Revenue Service and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality may be conducting investigations of their own.