LOS ANGELES —A joint investigation that included California Department of Justice special agents resulted in the arrest of five drug trafficking suspects and the seizure of 55 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $2 million, Attorney General Kamala Harris announced July 30, 2015.
“California is the gateway for 70 percent of the methamphetamine trafficked into the United States from Mexico,” said Attorney General Harris. “This dangerous drug, and the actions of those who traffic and sell it, threatens the public health and safety of our communities. I thank our DOJ agents and local and federal partners for their commitment to dismantling transnational criminal organizations.”
In one investigation, an undercover California DOJ Bureau of Investigation special agent arranged to purchase 30 pounds of methamphetamine for $4,000 per pound and the suspects agreed to complete the transaction in two deliveries of 15 pounds each.
On July 22, 2015, in a parking lot in Ontario, the suspects delivered the first installment of 15 pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover agent . The suspects were expecting payment of $60,000 for methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $750,000. Arrested were Pedro Gallegos, 33, Teodoro Yau-Silva, 43.
On July 16, 2015, another three suspects were arrested after they delivered 25 pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in a parking lot in Ontario. The suspects were expecting a payment of $87,500 for the methamphetamine that has an estimated street value of $1,250,000. Those arrested were Bernardo Real-Rojo, 39, Anthony Perez, 29, and Jose Christian Rodriguez, 19. All five suspects are believed to be associated with the Sinaloa cartel.
"This is extremely dangerous work by DOJ agents," said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association President Alan Barcelona. "Everything is at risk and on the line during these investigations, transactions and arrests. They are on the front lines of the war on the extreme amount of drugs coming in from Mexico."
The arrests are a result of joint investigations between the Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force (INCA), which is led by the California Department of Justice (DOJ), the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Los Angeles Cartel Strike Force, and the Riverside Police Department.
Gallegos, Yau-Silva, Real-Rojo, Perez, and Rodriguez are currently being held at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s West Valley Detention Center. Bail for the each suspect has been set at $500,000. Gallegos and Yau-Silva will be prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and Real-Rojo, Perez, and Rodriguez will be prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
