Thousands of pounds of drugs seized, 44 people charged in South Bay drug investigation
SAN FRANCISCO (KION) In a joint press conference, the U.S. District Attorney's Office, FBI, DEA and other agencies announced that 44 people have been charged in a drug and weapon investigation spanning the South Bay.
The agencies said drugs were seized in these locations:
- San Jose 6/17/2020- 99.4 pounds of meth
- Gilroy 6/25/2020- 25 pounds of meth
- Santa Clara 7/1/2020- 44.6 pounds of meth
- San Jose 7/1/2020- 11.8 pounds of meth
- San Mateo 7/24/2020- 25 pounds of meth
- Sunnyvale 1/27/2021- 572 pounds of meth
- San Jose 1/27/2021- 15.9 pounds of meth, 1.8 pounds of cocaine
- Gilroy 2/9/2021- 57 pounds of meth
Two seizures are dated November 2021, one in Mountain View and another in Newark. Because it is still February 2021, the date provided from investigators is likely a typo. In Mountain View, 40 pounds of meth were seized, and in Newark, 10 pounds of meth were seized. Further south, 11 pounds of cocaine were seized in Santa Maria in April 2020.
Additionally, investigators said they seized 500 grams of Fentanyl, 20 pounds of heroin, more than a dozen guns and more than $200,000 in cash over the course of the investigations. They believe the drugs were brought into the area from the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.
The investigation also has ties to the Central Coast. Over the past two weeks, 15 arrest warrants and 13 search warrants have been served, and one of the warrants was served in Watsonville.
Watsonville police say one of the 44 men charged in connection to the drug trafficking investigation was arrested in Watsonville. The suspect is identified as 39-year-old Jose Manuel Rodriguez. Police said multiple agencies worked together to serve a search warrant in the 1900 block of Freedom Boulevard Wednesday afternoon.
They said Rodriguez jumped out of a window in an attempt to escape, but he was arrested and handed over to federal authorities.
The Salinas and Soledad police departments were also involved in the investigation.
Of the 44 people charged, investigators said 12 have not been arrested.
This is a developing story. Keep checking back for updates.
