SALT LAKE COUNTY – Two dozen people are indicted in what investigators are calling a large and complicated methamphetamine distribution ring.
Agents from the FBI and the DEA were able to seize 41 pounds of Mexican meth that came into the state, along with 17 firearms after investigations that lasted several months. U.S. Attorney for Utah, John Huber, says a lot of meth seized in Utah is meant for other parts of the country, but these shipments were different.
Huber says, “These pounds and pounds of drugs were destined for right out the window, here.”
Brian Besser with the DEA says their agency was tracking one suspected drug dealer, while the FBI was tracking another. Soon, investigators learned both suspected dealers were being supplied by the same source.
Besser says, “Throughout its tenure, this organization has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug related proceed.”
Investigators believe the main supplier is Raul Enrique Lizarraga Lopez, aka Maestro, out of Los Angeles. The other 23 people indicted are from Salt Lake County.
Besser says this indictment could have a big impact on violent crime in the county. He says meth, in some ways, is a scarier drug than opioids like heroin.
“The opioid epidemic is very important, but, it has overshadowed the import of this. This drug is so volatile, so powerful, that taking this off the streets has done Utah a great service,” Besser says.