Illegal aliens arrested with half-pound of cocaine

Elko Daily Free Press
January 18, 2011
ELKO, NV

Three Mexicans, later verified as being in the country illegally, were stopped by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Thursday morning on Interstate 80 near Elko after he observed their vehicle speeding. The men's suspicious activity eventually led to the discovery of more than a half-pound of pure cocaine.

According to the trooper, once he pulled the vehicle over, there were "indicators of criminal activity" from the get-go. He was given consent to search the car, and he located 270 grams of cocaine hidden in the vehicle. That amount is about 10 ounces, or 10 times the amount required by Nevada Revised Statutes to charge someone with Level 3 felony trafficking of cocaine.

The trooper also said he had difficulty in determining the true identity of the men, and as of Friday morning he was still trying to verify one of the three. Checks with U.S. Border Patrol have led the trooper to believe the men have not entered the country legally, and forms of ID they provided have proven to be fraudulent.

The men claim to be from various places in California.

The men are identified as Jose DeJesus Ojeda-Martinez, 19, of Stockton; Juan Carlos Leon-Quinonez, 22, of Huntington Park; and Cipriano Garcia-Aispuro, 21. Garcia-Aispuro's address is listed at this point as "transient" in California.

All three men were booked into the Elko County Jail on charges of trafficking 28 grams or more of cocaine and possessing falsely obtained documents. Each man's bail is $520,000.

The trooper said the cocaine was "pure and unadulterated."

- Jared DuBach

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