SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — An investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration nabbed four suspected south Bay Area drug dealers, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
Victor Nevarez, Juan Rivera Arzate, Adhemar Castaneda Becerril, and Pedro Gaona Salse were arrested on narcotics trafficking charges and arraigned in federal court Thursday.
Prosecutors said Nevarez, 49, of San Jose, and Arzate, 38, of San Jose, were engaged in a conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine from December 13, 2020 to March 8, 2022.
DEA agents seized more than 10 kilograms of methamphetamine and thousands of dollars in cash with the arrests of Nevarez and Arzate.
A third man, 28-year-old Pedro Gaona Salse of San Jose, is accused of being a fentanyl dealer.
According to the complaint, DEA agents executed a search warrant at Salse’s residence on May 19. Salse was home. Next to a toilet in the bathroom, the agents found approximately 80 grams of a gray substance believed to be fentanyl.
Becerril, 26, of Gilroy, was arrested and charged with the intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense methamphetamine. DEA agents executed a search warrant at Becerril’s home.
During the search, agents found a saucer pan with a dark liquid substance inside the laundry room. The dark liquid tested presumptively positive as methamphetamine, prosecutors said. The substance weighed more than 5.8 pounds. Investigators believe Becerril was operating clandestine methamphetamine conversion labs.
Nevarez, Arzate, Becerril, and Salse were arraigned by United States Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins Thursday. They remain in custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael G. Pitman and Daniel Kassabian are prosecuting the case. The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.