California man was just released from prison, investigators say
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A California man faces a federal drug charge in Nevada after DEA agents said they found him with more than 63 pounds of methamphetamine and thousands of suspected fentanyl pills.
Moses Rivera, of Woodlake, California, was charged Wednesday in connection with selling large amounts of meth and suspected fentanyl pills, court documents said.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration said they performed three undercover purchases in February and at the beginning of this month from Rivera’s cousin. As part of their investigation, agents purchased 50 pounds of meth and 2,000 suspected fentanyl pills.
On March 22, an undercover agent, Rivera, and several other men, including the cousin, met in Las Vegas to make the exchange.
Investigators had put a tracking device on Rivera’s cousin’s vehicle, following him to a home in Woodlake, California, owned by Rivera, investigators said.
Agents also tracked the cousin to a storage facility in Farmersville, California. Police believe Rivera was storing the illegal drugs there.
During Rivera’s arrest, he attempted to drive off and “nearly ran over one of the arresting agents,” they wrote in court documents.
Investigators found meth and the pills in one car. The meth totaled more than 63 pounds.
Agents later returned to the Farmersville storage facility, finding 37 guns, nearly 16 pounds of meth, plus other amounts of heroin and cocaine.
Rivera was recently released from prison after a 2016 arrest.
Rivera faces a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Because he is in federal custody, a booking photo was not provided.
Charges for the other individuals involved in the arrest were not available as of Thursday.