The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced March 17 that a federal grand jury returned a three-count superseding indictment charging three defendants in connection with a drug trafficking conspiracy.
According to the DEA, Alfredo Alvarez Sanchez, 37, and Raul Munoz Navarro, 54, both of Mexico, were arrested on Dec. 11, 2024, during a coordinated law enforcement operation.
Inosencio Cruz, 35, of Visalia, California, was arrested on March 11, the DEA added.
The DEA reported that the arrests stemmed from an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in California’s Central Valley, according to court records.
The DEA said coordinated searches conducted on May 17, 2023, resulted in the seizure of nearly 1,000 pounds of crystal meth and 14 firearms.
The operation involved the search of five properties in Tulare, Earlimart, and Corcoran, the DEA stated.
During the searches, law enforcement dismantled two active methamphetamine conversion laboratories, the DEA said.
These labs contained numerous 55-gallon drums filled with liquid methamphetamine in various stages of conversion to crystal methamphetamine, the DEA explained.
In addition to these seizures, law enforcement conducted a series of enforcement actions that resulted in the confiscation of significant quantities of contraband, drugs, and firearms intended for distribution in California’s Central Valley, the DEA reported. These included:
- Nov. 30, 2023: 150 pounds of methamphetamine seized.
- Feb. 24, 2024: 200 pounds of methamphetamine confiscated.
- March 20, 2024: 25 pounds of methamphetamine and four pounds of marijuana seized.
Additionally, law enforcement recovered 11 firearms from an individual who attempted to conceal them following the March 20, 2024, methamphetamine seizure, the DEA said.