According to the US Department of Justice, the executive director of the San Jose Police Officers' Association (SJPOA) has been charged with attempting to illegally import a banned narcotic. The 64-year-old Joanne Marian Segovia is charged with placing orders for thousands of opioids to be delivered to her house and agreeing to sell them in the US.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Segovia ordered the medications, including fentanyl, between October 2015 and January 2023 using both her home and work computers. According to the DOJ, at least 61 packages from nations like India, Hong Kong, and Hungary were sent to her address.
"This is a very unsettling accusation. Regardless of their employer, nobody is exempt from the law. In an interview with KRON4, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan expressed his gratitude to U.S. Attorney Ramsey and his team for vigorously pursuing the sources of fentanyl entering our neighborhoods and holding drug traffickers accountable. Law officials first discovered the link to Segovia, who has been a member of the SJPOA since 2003, when looking into an Indian drug-smuggling network. According to the lawsuit, when Homeland Security investigators searched a network operative's phone, they discovered texts that contained the phrases "180 tablets SOMA 500mg" and mentioned "J Segovia" at a San Jose address.
Five packages intended for Segovia's address were reportedly detained between July 2019 and January 2023, according to information from US Customs and Border Protection. The parcels contained more than a kilogram of banned narcotics, including Tramadol, a narcotic used to relieve pain, and Zolpidem, a sedative used to cure insomnia, according to the court papers.
Innocent names like "Shirts Tops," "Chocolate and Sweets," and "Gift Makeup" were used on the shipments sent to Segovia's residence, according to the DOJ. Homeland Security claimed that shipments from a number of foreign nations bearing similar markings frequently contain illicit substances.
On February 1, 2023, investigators from Homeland Security questioned Segovia. She insisted that she had placed an ordinary-looking supplement order. According to court filings, she also declined to reveal agents her CashApp transaction history.
On March 14, when she was questioned again, she blamed the orders on a different woman, whom she identified as a family friend and housekeeper who had a substance abuse problem. Homeland Security said that when asked if the woman had access to her phone, she gave contradictory answers.
Later, Segovia allowed police to view her WhatsApp account. The words "soma" or "orange tablets" appeared in hundreds of texts. An image of a UPS receipt with the signature "J Segovia" and the return address of 1151 North Fourth Street — the location of the SJPOA — can be seen in 2021 after Segovia was instructed to ship a box to a woman in North Carolina.
In the lawsuit, Homeland Security Officer David Vargas stated, "I also believe the use of the San Jose Police Officers' Association mailing label implies that Segovia exploited her office as part of her acquisition and distribution of prohibited narcotics."
According to the court filing, a controlled substance with the label "CLOCK" was found on March 13. The package was addressed to Segovia's residence and came from a Chinese address. Valeryl fentanyl was discovered on a clock kit that featured white adhesive stickers or patches. Valeryl fentanyl was referred to as a "synthetic fentanyl analogue and a Schedule I narcotic" in documents.
On March 23, according to Homeland Security, Segovia paid for a transaction involving suspected cocaine sales. Officers found Tapentadol pills at Segovia's residence and place of business the following day.
Vargas asserted that after speaking with Homeland Security personnel, Segovia continued to order and pay for drugs. He also thinks Segovia intentionally provided investigators with misleading information.