Two men, one from Tucson and the other a permanent resident from Mexico living in Phoenix, were charged on Tuesday by federal criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl.
The charge comes after agents seized about 700,000 blue M30 pills from Sesma's truck and Montes' residence, according to a news release from The United States Attorney's Office, District of Arizona.
According to the news release, the criminal complaint said on March 10, DEA Phoenix agents observed Montes drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee into a Phoenix store parking lot and park next to Sesma in a white Ford F250 bearing Sonoran license plates.
The two spoke briefly, then Montes transferred factory-sealed packages of roofing shingles from his vehicle to the bed of the Ford F250, the news release said.
After Montes left the parking lot, investigators conducted traffic stops on both the Cherokee and the F250. A Mesa Police K9 detective conducted an open-air sniff of the Ford F250 and detected narcotics in the vicinity of the truck bed, the news release said.
Investigators searched the truck and seized approximately 114 pounds of blue M30 pills laced with fentanyl, which were hidden in the roofing shingles, the news release said.
Sesma and Montes were placed under arrest, the news release said.
Montes told investigators that he possessed more drugs at his home in Tucson, according to the news release. Upon a search of his property, investigators seized an additional 32 pounds of blue M30 pills containing fentanyl.
