BOISE -- Five men were arrested on drug trafficking and conspiracy charges Friday night after Ada County Sheriff's Deputies and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force members found a pound of meth in their vehicle.
Officers arrested Mario Alejandro Garcia, 30, of Gooding, Alfonso Miranda-Coto, 22, of Jerome, James Joseph Delaney, 34, of Wendell, Jose Luis Limon-Ramirez, 28, of Phoenix, AZ and Juan Luis Sanchez-Castro, 28, of Mesa, AZ.
The investigation began more than a month ago when Garcia began talking with an undercover detective about a drug deal. Garcia eventually agreed to sell the undercover detective a pound of methamphetamine. Garcia and the other four men made arrangements to deliver the drugs to a parking lot near Interstate 84 in east Boise Friday evening.
Sheriff s Deputies, Boise Police and DEA agents were waiting when Garcia and the others arrived to make the drug sale. As officers approached the vehicle, one of the men threw a handgun from the car. The gun is believed to be stolen.
Detectives took the five suspects into custody. Inside the vehicle, officers found a pound of meth. The street value of the drug is estimated to be about $20,000.
Garcia, Miranda-Coto, Delaney, Limon-Ramirez, Sanchez-Castro were booked into the Ada County Jail. They are scheduled to be arraigned on the felony charges Monday afternoon. Additional charges are possible.
Miranda-Coto, Limon-Ramirez and Sanchez-Castro are believed to be in the U.S. illegally. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will take over that part of the investigation.
