5 charged after large methamphetamine bust in California's Central Valley
Five people were charged in connection with a large methamphetamine bust in California's Central Valley late last month, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.
A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment against five people who entered the U.S. from Mexico illegally, charging them with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, and other drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi and U.S. Attorney Eric Grant identified the suspects as 33-year-old Luis Reyna Carrillo and his wife, 33-year-old Mariana Vanessa Mendoza Camacho. They also identified 31-year-old Juan Jesus Manriquez Diaz, 44-year-old Alvaro Rosales and 38-year-old Manuel Juan Madrid Perez in connection with the case.
Following the operation, authorities said eight people were arrested, but the California Department of Justice said it has five federal defendants.
Officials said Perez has a prior felony conviction in California, including in 2022 for false imprisonment and preventing a victim from reporting a crime.
The Department of Homeland Security reported that Carrillo and Camacho arrived in the United States in 2021 and were given notices to appear. Diaz was removed from the U.S. in 2018, and Rosales in 2024.
The five were arrested during an investigation into a drug trafficking organization suspected of manufacturing methamphetamine in a remote area of Calaveras County. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, which assisted in the investigation, called it one of the largest domestic methamphetamine seizures in U.S. history.
Search warrants were served at three locations — Valley Springs, Turlock and Modesto — leading to the discovery of about 1,430 pounds of methamphetamine and 1,270 pounds of suspected partially processed methamphetamine. Authorities said the methamphetamine totaled to a street value of about $4 million.
Federal prosecutors said authorities also found methamphetamine that was packaged for distribution, hundreds of marijuana plants, processed marijuana and firearms.
The five defendants face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.
