Three Mexican nationals were apprehended on Wednesday for allegedly smuggling meth in the West Valley, authorities said.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, Mariano Gomez Padilla, 28, Eduardo Garcia Lopez, 21, and Abel Martinez Valenzuela, 25, are all charged with conspiracy to possess with the purpose to distribute methamphetamine.
Prosecutors claimed 133.5 pounds of cocaine were confiscated during the meth smuggling probe.
If convicted, all three individuals could face a 10-year to life sentence in jail and a fine of up to $10 million.
Details of alleged meth smuggling in West Valley
Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force were conducting surveillance on an apartment in Glendale in anticipation of a meth purchase.
Prosecutors claimed that the agents followed Gomez Padilla and Garcia Lopez as they drove to another place in Glendale.
The agents reportedly attempted to halt both automobiles, but neither Gomez Padilla nor Garcia Lopez complied.
Garcia Lopez allegedly attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended. Meanwhile, prosecutors allege that Gomez Padilla struck an agent’s car as well as two parked vehicles. Gomez Padilla and Martinez Valenzuela, a passenger in Gomez Padilla’s automobile, were apprehended after fleeing on foot.
The United States Attorney’s Office reported that investigators searched Garcia Lopez’s automobile and seized 61.75 pounds of meth. Agents also searched a Ford F-250 related with the inquiry and seized an additional 71.75 pounds of meth, packed identically to the meth discovered in Garcia Lopez’s automobile.
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