On June 25th, 2015 the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Major Violators Unit, along with the Bakersfield and Sacramento offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration, concluded a several month long investigation into the sales of illegal drugs.
On June 25th, multiple search warrants were served in the cities of Delano, Sacramento, and Phoenix AZ. The investigation was the result of collaborative efforts by the Sheriff’s Office and the DEA over the past six months in which they discovered a large scale drug trafficking organization was transporting hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and heroin from Mexico to Kern County, Sacramento, and Phoenix.
The primary suspect, 39 year old Jose Manuel Valdez Torres, is suspected of maintaining homes in each city and coordinating the exchange of drugs and money. Throughout the investigation, detectives seized about 10 pounds of methamphetamine, four pounds of heroin, and about $20,000 in US currency.
The investigation culminated with the service of one search warrant in Phoenix, six search warrants in Sacramento, and three in Delano. In Phoenix, five pounds of methamphetamine, $10,000 in US currency, one handgun, and one assault rifle were seized, and one suspect was arrested. In Sacramento, four pounds of methamphetamine, two pounds of heroin, $150,000 in US currency, one shotgun, two rifles, four handguns, and one assault rifle were seized, and seven suspects were arrested. In Delano, forty pounds of methamphetamine, one half pound of heroin, and $50,000 in US currency were seized. Two Delano residents, 22 year old Leobaldo Martinez Carranza and 26 year old Leonel Valdez Castro, were arrested for various drug related charges.
Torres was not located and is believed to have fled to Mexico with his wife. The Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the California Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team and Homeland Security Investigations assisted with the service of the warrants.
A photo is attached of the methamphetamine and heroin seized in Delano.
