The first guy made the mistake of walking out of his home with a package clearly visible. And, oh yeah, he was under surveillance by the feds.
Mailed from Northern California to Arkansas.
San Mateo man arrested for allegedly sending meth through the mail
By Jason Green - PUBLISHED: October 18, 2016 at 3:50 pm | UPDATED: October 19, 2016 at 4:44 am SAN MATEO -- The mail must go through, but not when it includes methamphetamine.
Federal authorities say the U.S. Postal Service was how Alexander Mendoza, of San Mateo, shipped the highly addictive stimulant to buyers across the country before being arrested Thursday on suspicion of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of meth.
The events that led to Mendoza's arrest are outlined in an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Michael Suarez.
Mendoza was already suspected of drug trafficking and under surveillance on April 25 when agents saw him leave his home with a white box and drive to the post office at 210 S. Ellsworth Ave. The package, which was bound for an address in Lewisville, Arkansas, was routed to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Office in Little Rock, Arkansas, where it was opened and a half-pound of meth was found inside, according to the affidavit.
A "controlled delivery" of the controlled substance took place three days later, with FBI agents and postal inspectors serving a search warrant at the address. In the end, the recipient cooperated with the investigation and recorded conversations with Mendoza, including one last week in which he arranged to buy 2 pounds of meth, according to the affidavit.
"So basically, this, the way it looks like, it's like compressed to a (expletive) solid (expletive) rock, basically," Mendoza said in the Oct. 12 recording. "So when you breaking it down, it breaks down, it breaks down in little chunks, and then it's more like, like powder form, kinda."
The following day, agents seized a package Mendoza dropped off at the Ellsworth post office containing 1,099 grams of meth, according to the affidavit. Mendoza was later arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City on the drug trafficking charges.
This next one was from Northern California to Kentucky, they don't say exactly what was suspicious about it.
BG man pleads guilty to crystal meth conspiracy
Justin Story Oct 18, 2016 0
A Bowling Green man admitted in court Tuesday to his role in what authorities say was a conspiracy to bring crystal methamphetamine here through the mail from California.
Jason Dean Borden, 46, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiring to possess 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Borden reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that would dismiss two additional counts of weapons-related offenses while recommending 17 years imprisonment.
Federal prosecutors claimed that Borden conspired with others in Bowling Green and elsewhere from December 2014 until February 2015 to ship meth into Bowling Green.
Charles Ickes, who has pleaded not guilty to taking part in the conspiracy, is accused of fronting an unindicted co-conspirator quantities of crystal meth, which would be sold to Borden. From there, Borden would break the meth down into smaller quantities and sell it to others, according to the plea agreement.
Borden would make partial payments to the unindicted co-conspirator, and the money would be forwarded to Ickes, the plea agreement states.
Law enforcement arrested Borden on Feb. 13, 2015, after a federal judge authorized a search warrant for a package from Santa Rosa, Calif., that was intercepted by a postal inspector in Bowling Green.
"Execution of the search warrant revealed approximately one and one-half pounds of crystal methamphetamine," the plea agreement states.
Law enforcement then conducted a controlled delivery of the package that day, with the unindicted co-conspirator agreeing to deliver the drugs to Borden and making two recorded phone calls to arrange the sale, court records show.
Borden was handed the package at a Bowling Green parking lot and placed under arrest, with authorities recovering the package, about $3,600 in cash, digital scales and a loaded revolver.
After being advised of his rights, Borden told police he had been selling meth for a few months leading up to his arrest, court records show.
"He stated he had received pound quantities of methamphetamine during the past three or four months on several different occasions and he stated he thought he was receiving two pounds of crystal methamphetamine on this date," the plea agreement states.
While in jail, Borden had phone conversations with his nephew, Joshua Moore, who has pleaded guilty to taking part in the conspiracy, possessing meth with the intent to distribute and possessing ammunition as a convicted felon.
"During those conversations, Borden made arrangements for Moore to collect debts owed for previous drug deliveries," the plea agreement states. "Additionally, he had Moore retrieve more methamphetamine for distribution that Borden had previously hidden."
Moore faces a 15-year sentence in the case, while Ickes is set to stand trial on Jan. 31.
Borden is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 7 by U.S. District Judge Greg Stivers.
Wasn't Alex Mendoza the name LE in Fresno used to bust Area51 and DarkAppollo? Maybe I have my names mixed up but if so that's weird.