Central Valley men indicted after seizure of 1 million suspected meth pills
Three Central Valley men have been indicted by a federal grand jury on drug-trafficking charges after authorities seized approximately 1 million pills containing suspected methamphetamine, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Jose Mendoza, 35, of Merced, Jessy Johnson, 34, of Turlock and Alejandro Perez, 43, of Crows Landing are charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other drug-trafficking offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
Investigators allege the men were part of a drug-trafficking organization that used the U.S. Postal Service to distribute narcotics across the country. During the investigation, law enforcement intercepted more than 100 parcels linked to the group, authorities said.
Those shipments contained a range of controlled substances, including methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, LSD and psilocybin mushrooms.
On March 26, officers from multiple agencies arrested the men and carried out search warrants at several locations, including a warehouse in Turlock that investigators say was used as a stash site.
At the warehouse, authorities found three pill presses and materials used to manufacture counterfeit pills, along with approximately 1 million pills believed to contain methamphetamine, according to prosecutors. Additional drugs also were recovered, including cocaine, alprazolam (Xanax), MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms and THC products.
Investigators also seized about $150,000 in cash and multiple cryptocurrency wallets believed to contain proceeds from drug sales. More than $400,000 in cryptocurrency has been recovered so far, officials said.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and several local agencies, including the San Joaquin County Metropolitan Narcotics Task Force, Stockton Police Department and Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life, along with a potential $10 million fine. Any sentence would be determined by a federal judge.
