Two men arrested in Madras drug bust
Two California men arrested late last week in a drug bust in a Madras Safeway parking lot remained in the Jefferson County Jail Monday, held for federal officials as suspected illegal immigrants, authorities said.
Around 9:30 p.m. last Thursday, detectives with the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team contacted and arrested Adalid Ortiz-Juarez, 24, of Walnut Creek, and Juan Jacobo-Lopez, 29, of Concord, in the parking lot of the Safeway at 80 NE Cedar St. in Madras, Lt. Ken Mannix said Monday.
The two men’s arrest resulted from a short CODE Team investigation into methamphetamine distribution in the Jefferson County area, Mannix said.
The investigation revealed that the two men – Ortiz-Juarez going by the name Daniel Silva-Ortiz – had traveled to the county with a large amount of meth, planning to sell it for profit, Mannix said. CODE Team detectives were able to find, identify and monitor the two men and the car they were in, he added.
At the time of the arrests, detectives found and seized about 3./4 pound of meth, worth about $16,000 on the street, concealed inside their car, Mannix said. They also seized $14,500 in cash, believed to be proceeds from drug sales, as well as other evidence.
The two men were booked into the Jefferson County Jail on drug possession, delivery and manufacture charges. They were being held Monday without bail on an “ICE detainer,” for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, as suspected illegal immigrants.
