NEW YORK: Five men associated with the Sinaloa Cartel were arrested in Ontario in connection with the trafficking of 55 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $2 million, the state Attorney’s General’s Office said Thursday.
Pedro Gallegos, 33, Teodoro Yau-Silva, 43, Bernardo Real-Rojo, 39, Anthony Perez, 29, and Jose Christian Rodriguez, 19, were arrested on charges of transportation of methamphetamine and possession for sales, as well as conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
The cartel’s high-profile leader, Joaquin Guzman, who is known as El Chapo, escaped from a Mexican prison on July 11 through an underground tunnel. The cartel gained notoriety for using tunnels to smuggle drugs under the border.
“California is the gateway for 70 percent of the methamphetamine trafficked into the United States from Mexico,” said Attorney General Kamala D. 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 state Department of Justice 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, according to an attorney general’s news release.
On July 16, Real-Rojo, Perez, and Rodriguez were arrested after allegedly delivering 25 pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover agent in a public parking lot in Ontario. The suspects were expecting a payment of $87,500 for the methamphetamine that has an estimated street value of $1.25 million, authorities said.
