OXFORD, Miss. (WTVA) - Federal prosecutors have announced eight arrests connected to an operation they say brought illegal drugs to the area.

The eight charged with drug trafficking are:

• Jeremy Mairidith, 38, of Tupelo
• Eiko T. Jones, 42, of Waukegun, Illinois
• Fernando Gonzalez, 24, of Turlock, California
• Stefanie K. Johnson, 30, of Tupelo
• Dmitri R. Kimble, 35, of Atlanta
• Samuel Wilson, III, 30, of Shannon
• Desmonya Lewis, 29, of Saltillo
• Andraea Stovall, 36, of Corinth

According to the 11-page federal indictment, Mairidith was the leader of the drug trafficking operation that distributed methamphetamine and marijuana in north Mississippi for years. 

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that Mairidith and his co-conspirators communicated with other drug traffickers in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and California.

They are accused of flying to Sacramento, California, in May to buy a large quantity of methamphetamine and ship it back to Lee County by the United States Postal Service Priority Mail.  

Federal prosecutors add the shipment was delivered to a "stash house" to avoid detection by law enforcement. 

Mairidith, Jones and Gonzalez were first arrested on state drug trafficking charges on May 18 of this year and have been held in custody since their arrest.

But this week, United States Magistrate Judge Roy Percy ordered Mairidith to be detained without bond pending trial.

Jones and Gonzalez are scheduled to make their first appearance on the federal indictment on August 19. The others are expected to appear before a judge later this week. 

In addition to drug trafficking charges, Mairidith, Johnson and Wilson face federal firearms charges.