Suspected cartel members arrested in the Valley
A federal and local drug task force has arrested three suspected members in connection with the Sinaloa Cartel living in the Valley after the months-long operation.
Abc15 news in Arizona reports during a six-month investigation, agents took more than $200,000 worth of drugs from an operation and intercepted more than $75,000 in cash.
In January, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) coordinated an investigation with Scottsdale police to target members of the cartel operating out of Mesa. Abc15 News reports the organization imports cocaine, meth, heroin, and fentanyl-laced pills from Mexico and exports illegal drug money back across the border.
Investigators identified Carlos Armando Perez Gutierrez as a member who stays at a drug stash house near Hayden and McDowell roads. Investigators said Gutierrez directed a vehicle into his backyard where kilos of drugs were unloaded and that the car was allegedly loaded with boxes of ammunition hiding in a secret compartment in the radiator.
Abc15 News stated another member, Alfredo Rios communicated with a carter dealer, Ivan Garduno Valencia saying the drugs had arrived and “looked good”. Reports state Rios told Valencia to meet him at Mesa tire shop and the drugs would be inside a tire.
According to authorities, they intercepted the vehicle and found nine bundled of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in the spare tire. The driver allegedly told police he was taking the shipment to Las Vegas.
According to Abc15, agents and detectives spent months surveilling the homes and stash houses as well as intercepting coded communication through a wiretap.
The investigation into the cartel is still ongoing and all three men are being held on $250,000 cash bonds on charges of narcotic drug sales, money laundering, aggravated assault, and weapons misconduct, Abc15 reported.
