Police confiscate 52 pounds of meth
Bus, train and auto travelers arrested in Bernalillo County
Federal and State Police say they have confiscated 52 pounds of methamphetamine — between $137,000 to $600,000 worth — from seven people traveling through the state on buses, a train and in a car.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents and federal prosecutors announced in a news release Friday that on Dec. 28 they confiscated 23.7 pounds of meth in two incidents on Greyhound buses at Albuquerque’s Downtown bus station.
On the same day, they say they took another 18.25 pounds from a man stopped for a traffic violation somewhere in Bernalillo County, according to the release.
And two days later, they say they arrested two California women on an Amtrak train in Albuquerque after finding them with about 10.47 pounds of meth.
The going price for a pound of meth ranges from $3,500 to $21,000 depending on location in the U.S., according to the National Drug Intelligence Center of the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, those arrested on the bus were: Alvan Raylon Tillman, 26, of Phoenix; Lewayne Deray Jennings, 28, of Dayton, Ohio; Jerell Leveine Whitman-Crutcher II, 29, of Warren, Mich., and Marcus Bernard Harris, Jr., 21, of Southfield, Mich..
Criminal complaints about their arrests show agents honed in on passengers who bought tickets with cash and had little or no check-in luggage. Voluntary interviews with the men led to a voluntary search of their luggage, which DEA agents said contained the methamphetamine.
Mario Sanchez-Ceja, 27, was arrested and charged in the traffic stop in Bernalillo County. It was not immediately clear where Sanchez-Ceja is from.
A criminal complaint about his arrest says he was traveling too close in traffic on Interstate 40 near Rio Puerco. The State Police officer who stopped him said he smelled strong air fresheners in the car, that Sanchez-Ceja was overly chatty and compliant and eventually consented to a search.
And April Luna-Contreras, 21, and Esthela Contreras-Luna, 44, both of San Diego, Calif., were charged after their arrest on the train.
Criminal complaints about their arrests do not indicate why officers prompted the federal and State Police agents to talk to the mother and daughter as the two sat in their train seats. The complaint says the women consented to searches of their bodies, where police found bundles of drugs strapped around their waists.
If convicted, each of the seven defendants faces a statutory mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life imprisonment for the crime, despite no physical damage to any victim.