Narcotics officers from across Northern Nevada converged on Carson City for a series of raids that ended with 10 people in jail and 8 pounds of drugs seized.
The arrests and seizures - 6 pounds of methamphetamine and 2 pounds of marijuana all valued at more than $50,000 - were part of a two-month investigation into local drug activity that is still ongoing, said Kim Evans, Tri-Net public information officer.
"For the most part, the arrests were part of one case," said a Tri-Net investigator, who wanted to remain anonymous.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents, Carson City Special Operations Response Team, and even canine units from the Nevada Highway Patrol and Washoe County Sheriff's Department were involved in the operation.
According to Evans, the arrests started in the early morning Tuesday at a supermarket parking lot near the intersection of East Highway 50 and Airport Road where four Carson City men and a woman were detained.
Rene Acosta-Aldama, 38, and Griselda Montero-Viera, 32, are suspected of dealing and possession of methamphetamine. Aldama is being held on $290,000 bail on suspicion of three counts of trafficking and Montero-Viera is being held on $40,000 for one count.
Also arrested in the parking lot were Kedir Diaz-Medina, 23, Jose Viera-Hernandez, 33, and Marco Antonio Montero-Mejia, 31. All three are suspected of conspiring to deal methamphetamine. Bail is $5,000 for all three men.
In the early afternoon, Tri-Net agents arrested Gavino Flores-Lara, 29, near Highway 395 and Clear Creek Avenue for suspicion of drug dealing. His bail is $100,000.
In the evening, two more busts were made in another parking lot off Highway 395 on West College Parkway.
Humberto Segura-Terrazas, 28, and Sergio Andrade-Lopez, 27, were arrested for suspicion of methamphetamine dealing and possession. They are each are being held on $250,000 bail.
Following the earlier arrests, search warrants were served at 2890 Menlo Drive #5 and 73 Tiger Drive. Two arrests and two undercover drug purchases were made by task force officers.
Julian Montero-Partida, 28, was arrested for suspicion of drug dealing and possession. His bail is $250,000. Edna Llilal Mayoral, 41, was arrested for alleged possession of marijuana and is being held on $2,500 bail.
All were processed at the Carson City Jail.
Although Tri-Net officials are tight-lipped about the investigation, one agent said the drugs were packaged for shipping, indicating they were likely brought from somewhere outside the Carson City area.
Drug dealing paraphernalia including weighing scales and packaging material was found during searches. But no methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories were discovered, an agent said. Inexpensive, over-the-counter ingredients can be mixed and "cooked" in home laboratories, he said.
Nationally, methamphetamine use has statistically increased during the last five years, a trend that can be partly attributed to its cheap and easy production and powerful stimulating effects, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Since 1993, Nevada has been a leading state in the proliferation of methamphetamine, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Only eight other states, all located in the West, rate as high.
In 1996, more than 50 residents per 100,000 Nevada residents sought treatment for methamphetamine abuse, according to the same report.
That same year, an estimated 4.9 million Americans, or 2.3 percent of the national population, used methamphetamine, according to the White House Drug Policy website.
