After four months of stake outs and information gathering, a team of local and federal law enforcement officials broke up what it calls a “sophisticated drug trafficking ring” that spanned three counties.
On July 2, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit—with help from the Santa Maria Police Department, San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency—served search warrants at several locations in the Santa Maria, Nipomo, and Bakersfield areas. During that time, officers apprehended 58-year-old Pedro Villa Perez of Nipomo for the possession of 3 pounds of cocaine and a half-pound of methamphetamine.
According to Sheriff’s Department spokesman Drew Sugars, Perez was stopped while driving in his car, where authorities found narcotics stashed in hidden compartments. A search of Perez’s Nipomo home allegedly revealed more narcotics in a Coleman ice chest.
Authorities claim Perez had been purchasing large amounts of meth and cocaine and distributing the drugs throughout the Central Coast and Bakersfield areas. He’s been arrested and booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on $100,000 bail. He was no longer in custody as of July 12.
Two others connected with Perez were also arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics and illegal firearms, and an alleged “business associate” living in Orcutt was charged with possession of methamphetamine.
This article appears in Jul 15-22, 2010.
