EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Three men are in federal custody for allegedly trying to sell 60 kilos of meth out of an apartment complex in Arizona.
The trio was arrested following a car and foot pursuit in which one of the suspects rammed a Chevrolet Silverado pickup into an undercover police vehicle and two other cars on Sept. 17 in the streets of Glendale, Arizona.
The arrests followed an undercover drug buy by members of the East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force watching an apartment complex on the 6200 block of West Oliver Avenue.
Court documents show agents saw three men later identified as Mariano Gomez Padilla, Abel Martinez Valenzuela and Eduardo Garcia Lopez driving the Silverado inside the complex. The vehicle stopped in the parking lot; Garcia got off and got inside a Hyundai Sonata before the two vehicles drove off the complex in tandem to a nearby street.
Task force undercover officers received notice to come and get the drugs they were supposed to buy, which were inside the Sonata. But instead of getting paid, the alleged traffickers were surrounded by police vehicles with flashing lights.
Court records show Garcia and Gomez tried to drive away, with Garcia stopping the Sonata a short distance away and fleeing on foot before agents caught up to him and arrested him.
Gomez allegedly kept going in the Silverado, struck and “caused substantial damages” to a pursuing police vehicle and two other cars during his flight. The Silverado went into another apartment complex and came to a stop with Gomez and Martinez allegedly running away before they, too, were apprehended, court records show.
Task force members reported finding a duffel bag with 28 kilos of packed bricks of meth inside the Sonata. In a later interview with investigators, Martinez allegedly revealed the location and handed the keys to a parked Ford F-150 pickup where another 32.5 kilos of meth were hidden.
The three men were charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. They have a preliminary hearing on Oct. 3 in a federal courtroom in Phoenix. At least one could face additional charges for being in the country illegally.
Federal officials have not publicly disclosed where the drugs came from or whether the suspects work for a criminal organization.
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