3 from Mexico charged with meth trafficking

Posted: Monday, January 17, 2011 11:30 am

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A traffic stop in Custer County last week led to drug charges against three Mexican citizens when a vehicle search turned up two pounds of methamphetamine in a detergent box.

The three men, all in the country illegally, appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby on a criminal complaint charging them with conspiracy to distribute meth.

The men are suspected of making a drug run from Minnesota and were arrested on the return trip after obtaining meth in Billings, court records said.

Those charged are Jose Enrique Santiago-Ramirez, 47; Hipolite Domingues, 41; and Librado Gomez-Correa, 42.

The three were traveling on Interstate 90 near Miles City on Jan. 11 when Highway Patrol Trooper Troy Muri stopped the vehicle for having a headlight out, said Wes Smith, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, in the complaint.

After Gomez and Santiago gave inconsistent information, Muri got consent from all three men to search the vehicle. In the trunk, the trooper found a large box of Tide detergent containing two plastic gallon-size bags containing about 2 pounds of meth, Smith said.

The investigation found that Gomez had recruited Santiago and Rivera to help drive. The men checked into the War Bonnet Inn in Billings for a few hours, met with another man, hid the meth in the detergent box and headed back to Minnesota, the agent said.

If convicted, the men face a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $4 million fine. The case will be presented to a grand jury for indictment. The men remain in custody.

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