Mexican trafficker charged with selling ‘lethal amounts’ of drugs in SC, FBI said
The FBI arrested a Mexican national charged with selling “lethal amounts of heroin and cocaine” in Horry County.
Rafael Contreras, 38, was brought from Mexico to South Carolina and indicted on two-counts of money laundering and distribution of cocaine and heroin, according to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office.
He appeared in federal court in Florence on Feb. 14.
Contreras is accused of selling the majority of narcotics in Horry County. The release did not state whether Contreras is involved in a specific cartel or organized crime organization, but a tactical expert and former police officer said the Sinaloa cartel is active in Horry County.
The Sinaloa cartel is an organized crime syndicate based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, which specializes in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.
At the end of 2024, former Fayetteville, North Carolina police officer Blake Cook stated the Sinaloa cartel has a strong presence in Myrtle Beach, The Sun News previously reported.
In an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show,” Cook explained the cartel runs strip clubs, drugs and “anything that comes in and out of Myrtle Beach is the Sinaloa cartel.” Cook even alleges the city’s beach stores are operated by the cartel.
When asked how he knows they are cartel, Cook responds that “we just know they operate out of Myrtle Beach.”
Horry County officials and Myrtle Beach Police did not confirm whether the Sinaloa cartel is active in the Myrtle Beach area, but stated they’ve arrested and worked with drug traffickers and cartels before.
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson previously said that drugs and gangs could be tied to 75% of criminal activity in Horry County. Richardson added there are divisions of Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and Folk Nation in the Myrtle Beach area, but they are loosely tied to the national gangs.
The FBI Columbia Field Office, the Horry County Police Department, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Myrtle Beach Police Department worked together to arrest Contrera.
Contrera’s case is apart of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, which focuses on high-level criminal organizations and gangs.
“The defendant, as alleged, caused significant harm to Horry County by directing the distribution of lethal amounts of heroin and cocaine.
“The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to expose and root out international drug trafficking networks that threaten the safety of our communities,” said Steve Jensen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia field office.
This story was originally published February 16, 2025 at 12:06 PM.
