RIVERSIDE, CALIF.
A federal grand jury Thursday indicted a Mexican national designated as an important target because of his links to international drug trafficking, according to officials.
Adrian Ulises Garcia Ruiz allegedly had a meth lab in Hesperia where multiple pounds of methamphetamine were seized.
Garcia-Ruiz, 37, a native of Michoacán, Mexico, was named in a two-count indictment that alleges he supplied liquid methamphetamine that was turned into crystal meth at the San Bernardino County drug lab.
The indictment names a second defendant – Carlos Miguel Gallardo-Valdovinos, also a Mexican national – who allegedly converted the narcotics into crystalline form.
According to the indictment, Garcia-Ruiz coordinated shipments of liquid methamphetamine into the United States, where it was converted into a crystalline form for distribution.
Gallardo-Valdovinos allegedly purchased acetone which he used to convert the liquid methamphetamine into crystalline form at the Hesperia lab.
In May 2014, authorities executed a search warrant at the Hesperia drug lab, where they seized approximately six gallons of liquid methamphetamine, more than nine pounds of crystal methamphetamine and $60,000 in U.S. currency.
The indictment links Garcia-Ruiz to Gallardo-Valdovinos through a series of intercepted communications, some of which indicate that Gallardo-Valdovinos had received six gallons of methamphetamine prior to the seizure.
Garcia-Ruiz was arrested at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Sept. 20.
A federal Magistrate Judge in Dallas detained Garcia-Ruiz, and he is currently being transported to Southern California by the United States Marshals Service. Once Garcia-Ruiz arrives in Southern California, he will be arraigned on the indictment.
The indictment charges Garcia-Ruiz and Gallardo-Valdovinos with two counts: conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute methamphetamine; and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Each count carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and up to life.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.