Feds seize 650 pounds of meth; four indicted

SAN JOSE >> Federal authorities say they raided a stash house here containing 588 pounds of methamphetamine, part of a series of seizures that yielded some 650 pounds of the drug in total.

Details of the investigation, which started in October 2020, were revealed in court records filed this week that included an indictment charging four people with involvement in a drug ring that sold heroin and methamphetamine. In addition to the 650 pounds of methamphetamine, federal authorities seized 15 pounds of heroin, prosecutors said in court papers.

Charged are Raul Jimenez-Verduzco, who authorities claim took over the drug ring after its leader fled to Mexico, Jose Banuelos-Garcia, Manuel Sanchez-Pedraza and Edgar Portillo. Last week, a federal magistrate allowed Sanchez-Pedraza and Portillo to be freed on $50,000 bonds, court records show.

The drug bust marks the second time this year that federal authorities in the Bay Area have touted largescale methamphetamine seizures. In February, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced that 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine were seized in an investigation targeting a Bay Area drug ring that was led by the infamous Sinaloa Cartel. No cartel connection has been publicly revealed in this case.

According to court papers filed by federal prosecutors, authorities had been pursuing the drug ring since 2018, but a prior investigation was thwarted. This time, investigators tailed suspected drug dealers and pulled them over when they were believed to have methamphetamine in their cars.

Last August, authorities observed Jimenez-Verduzco place a duffle bag in Sanchez-Pedraza’s car. They pulled the car over on Hayward Avenue in Santa Clara and found more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine, according to the criminal complaint against both men. Similarly, in an Oct. 26 traffic stop in San Jose, authorities found 22 pounds of methamphetamine in a car driven by Edgar Portillo, according to prosecutors. They believe those drugs were purchased from a supplier in San Diego.

Prosecutors also say the group appears to have a knack for discovering tracking devices on their cars, which may have tipped off the group’s alleged leader that he was under investigation. The 2018 investigation was halted after two such tracking devices were discovered, and in November 2020, the drug ring’s alleged leader, Daniel Noe Verduzco-Ramirez, discovered a device on his car, authorities say.

After fleeing, VerduzcoRamirez left his nephew, Jimenez-Verduzco, in charge of the ring’s day-today operations but is still believed to be controlling operations from Mexico, prosecutors wrote in a motion to keep Jimenez-Verduzco in custody.

In addition to the drugs, authorities recovered several guns from the suspected stash house in San Jose, according to prosecutors.