OGDEN -- The Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force arrested seven men on drug charges over the weekend and confiscated a quantity of narcotics, a spokesman said Monday.
The arrests came as the result of three separate but similar scenarios, Sgt. Nate Hutchinson said. In each case, an undercover agent befriended a suspected dealer and made arrangements for a delivery. When the drugs were delivered and the deal was completed, narcotics agents arrested those involved, he said.
"These were three separate deals, but each resulted in the seizure of a sizeable quantity of hard drugs," Hutchinson said. "These were not user quantities of drugs. Interestingly, all the suspects are illegal immigrants. Generally speaking, all the large quantities of hard drugs are coming here from Mexico now."
The busts started Friday when Damian Martinez-Solis, 26, of Salt Lake City, brought two ounces of methamphetamine to a home in Roy to meet a supposed buyer. A woman riding with him was not part of the drug deal, Hutchinson said, but because she had a small amount of meth on her person and was the subject of an active warrant, she also was arrested. Martinez-Solis is being held in Weber County Jail as an illegal immigrant on a hold from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
A sizeable amount of heroin was seized Saturday when police arrested Juan Dedios, 22, of Sinaloa, Mexico. A strike force undercover agent connected with Dedios and made arrangements to buy 10 ounces of black tar heroin. When he brought the heroin from Salt Lake City to Roy, the agent completed the deal, and then Dedios was arrested and booked into Weber County Jail, where he is being kept on an ICE hold, Hutchinson said.
On Saturday, five men were arrested in one large-scale meth deal, Hutchinson said. An agent had connected with Enrique Rodriguez, 40, of Park City, and arranged for the delivery of four and a half ounces of crystal meth.
Rodriguez came to a location in Roy to check details of the deal. When he was satisfied things were safe, four men in a second vehicle delivered the drugs to him and the buyer. When money and drugs changed hands, officers moved in and arrested the five men, all illegal immigrants from Mexico now living in the Park City area.
Charged along with Rodriguez were Jesus Magana, 24, Jose Luis Barrios-Bello, 22, Jorge Mollao-Solano, 31, and Jose Luis Perez-Lais, 40, each for possession of meth with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school or church. All the suspects are being held on an ICE hold, Hutchinson said.
"This was the culmination of a lot of hard work by many officers working as a team," Hutchinson said.
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