Federal Agents Execute Search Warrants-Arrest Almost 50 People Across Alabama
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
Jul. 16, 2025
FOLEY, Ala. On Tuesday morning, our news desk was notified by law enforcement that several raids in Robertsdale and Foley were about to be conducted.
The raids, with search warrants in hand, were being conducted by Federal, state and local law enforcement and involved suspected crimes of drugs, employment of illegal immigrants, money laundering and other state and federal crimes, that law enforcement had been investigating for quite some time.
During the operation on Tuesday, law enforcement served 14 search warrants in Lee, Macon, Elmore, Autauga, Crenshaw and Baldwin counties with dozens of arrests being made.
In Robertsdale the El Patron Mexican restaurant was one of the targets and was suspected of more than just employing illegal immigrants.
According to the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Kevin Davidson, these searches led to more than just arrests.
“Law enforcement recovered distribution amounts of methamphetamine powder, cocaine, crack, cocaine, assorted pills, more than $100,000 of bulk cash, and at least 20 guns,” Davidson said.
At the center of this investigation was Cesar Campos Reyes, who according to FBI Mobile, surrendered himself in Lee County hours after the search warrants were served.
According to a federal indictment, Campos Reyes fraudulently obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan by falsely certifying documents tied to restaurants that were raided on Tuesday.
Federal agents say the loan funds totaled around $225,000.
Campos Reyes is said to be the registered agent for the businesses and federal agents also raided other El Patron locations in Wetumpka, Opelika and Prattville.
Federal investigators also said Reyes is also the registered agent at the El Patron restaurant in Pensacola.
Steven Schrank, special agent in charge for HSI in Alabama and Georgia, said this investigation has uncovered a bigger issue.
“This operation was not about any one offense. It was about dismantling a criminal ecosystem, one that profits from the exploitation of people in the circumvention of our nation’s laws,” Schrank said. “In many of the locations we investigated, we uncovered, not only unlawful, unauthorized employment of aliens, but evidence that may point to a broader pattern of criminal conduct.”
Schrank also said businesses who knowingly hire non-citizens are creating a path for other problems.
“When employers knowingly hire illegal aliens, they create a magnet for exploitation, wage theft and unsafe conditions,” he said. “They also sidestep labor laws designed to protect workers and dissuade honest employers. This creates an underground economy that is often tied to organized criminal activity and puts our communities at risk.
We were told on Tuesday that this is an ongoing investigation and more arrests are possible.
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