From the HERE City National Desk
ASH SPRINGS, Nev. — Nevada federal prosecutors charged a 26-year-old driver after a rural speeding stop uncovered totes packed with suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine totaling more than 700 pounds.
Court papers name Francisco Joel Garcia Farias. A Lincoln County sheriff deputy stopped his pickup for speeding on Highway 93 near Ash Springs on Oct. 13. After a drug dog alerted, deputies opened 13 big storage bins filled with vacuum-sealed bundles.
Inside they logged about 187 packs of white crystals tipping the scales near 307.22 kilograms that spot-tested as methamphetamine, plus 13 brick-shaped packs near 14 kilograms that spot-tested as fentanyl.
Prosecutors said that fentanyl share alone equals roughly seven million potentially lethal two-milligram doses — more than twice Nevada population. Attorney General Todd Blanche said people who move fentanyl onto American streets will face prosecution.
Garcia Farias faces a fentanyl trafficking count tied to 400 grams or more and a separate methamphetamine trafficking count tied to 500 grams or more. Each count carries a 10-year floor and a life ceiling if he is convicted, plus five years of supervision afterward, Nevada federal prosecutors said.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Lincoln County Sheriff Office and task-force partners ran the probe. HSI Executive Associate Director John A. Condon called the haul an extraordinary hazard. Sheriff Derek Foremaster credited traffic work and the K-9. Charging papers describe Garcia Farias as present in the country without legal status.
Section: More Washington DC crime news
