Joanne Marian Segovia, a 20-year employee and executive director of the San Jose Police Officers Association, was tasked with importing and distributing fentanyl, muscle relaxants and other drugs through a complex international mail system.

Segovia used its home and office computers to order thousands of synthetic opioids, including valeryl fentanyl, disguised as chocolates, wedding favors and makeup as part of a plan to distribute them across the United States, according to the criminal complaint, filed Monday filed by the United States Office.

According to the criminal complaint, Homeland Security officials were led through an investigation into Segovia that probed a network they said was shipping controlled substances from India.

At least 61 shows According to the complaint, between October 2015 and January 2023, drugs worth thousands of dollars were shipped to Segovia’s home from countries including Hong Kong, Hungary, India and Singapore.

“The manifestos for these shows declared their content with labels such as ‘wedding gifts,’ ‘gift makeup,’ or ‘chocolate and candy,'” according to the US Attorney’s Office for Northern California it says in a press release.

“But between July 2019 and January 2023, officers intercepted and opened five of those shipments and found them to contain thousands of controlled substance pills, including the synthetic opioids tramadol and tapentadol.”

Fentanyl is too readily available

“What really worries me is that it’s just a reminder of how accessible this is,” said Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Supervisor, who leads the county’s fentanyl task force. “And that from a law enforcement and community perspective, we need to be a lot more aggressive and confident in how we go about breaking this chain that we just couldn’t break.”

Segovia colleagues are shocked.

“I was just absolutely amazed, shocked, …