- Five men were indicted for drug possession in four separate Utah investigations.
- Agents seized more than 52 pounds of narcotics across the four cases.
- A sixth man was sentenced last week to five years in prison for trafficking drugs.
SALT LAKE CITY — Five men were indicted this week in Utah in separate drug investigations, and a sixth person was sentenced to five years in prison for trafficking drugs.
Across the four separate cases, FBI agents seized 23,759.17 grams, or 52.38 pounds of narcotics within just two days in March.
Luis Angel Cervantes Salinas, 24, of West Valley City, was arrested after agents located 1,678.27 grams of fentanyl and a 12-gauge shotgun at his residence and in his vehicle, according to prosecutors.
"As a previously convicted felon, Cervantes Salinas is restricted from possessing a firearm and ammunition," a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office of Utah said.
Cervantes pleaded guilty in 2023 to attempted aggravated robbery and aggravated assault in a 2020 incident, according to court records. He was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison for his charges. In federal court, he now faces a charge of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm as a restricted person.
In the second case, Jesus Cecilio Caballos-Mendoza, 40, and Jesus Ivan Meza-Lopez, 42, were charged with transporting methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Salt Lake County. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the two men are illegal residents of California.
FBI agents organized a controlled purchase with an undercover agent, and a traffic stop was conducted on the two men, where 9,355.7 grams of methamphetamine, 1,122.8 grams of heroin, and 439.8 grams of fentanyl were located, court documents state. The two were each charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
In a third case, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Soto, 26, of Mexico, was illegally residing in West Valley City when agents located about 2,554 grams of cocaine and approximately $20,500 during a search of his residence, according to court documents.
When Gonzalez was booked into jail, officers located an additional 30 grams of cocaine on him, prosecutors said. He was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
In the final case that led to an indictment, Jose Francisco Aguilar Lozano, 37, was stopped for a traffic violation on March 20 in Park City. Court documents state Aguilar is a Mexican citizen who was visiting the United States on a tourist visa.
After a K-9 alerted to narcotics in his vehicles, Homeland Security investigators arrived on scene and located eight bundles of fentanyl, weighing 8.5 kilograms, inside a backpack in his vehicle, according to a federal complaint. Court documents say Aguilar admitted he was going to be paid for transporting the narcotics when he was questioned by police.
Aguilar is charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and has a trial scheduled in June.
A sixth person was sentenced last week to five years in prison for possessing and intending to distribute more than 17 pounds of methamphetamine and illegally reentering the U.S. Juan Alexis Castanon-Chavez, 28, of Mexico, was residing in Bountiful when he was arrested, the U.S. Attorney's Office of Utah said.
Castanon-Chavez will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation after he is released from prison and will serve one year of supervised release, court documents state.
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Cassidy Wixom
