Grimy Times has learned that Andres Jasso Jr, 37, of Brookhaven, Ga., and Rufino Pineda-Perez, 59, of Mexico, have been arrested in connection with the seizure of over 700 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in a tractor-trailer load of cucumbers outside of a Gainesville warehouse.
According to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, the charges and other information presented in court reveal that on June 30, 2025, DEA Atlanta agents learned that a tractor-trailer parked at a warehouse in Gainesville, Georgia potentially contained a large amount of drugs. At the warehouse, agents observed a sedan next to the tractor trailer. Jasso, Jr. was in the driver’s seat of the sedan, and Pineda-Perez was in the front passenger seat.
During a search of the tractor-trailer, agents located 20 pallets of boxes containing cucumbers. Inside the boxes, agents uncovered thousands of individually wrapped packages containing methamphetamine. Jasso, Jr. and Pineda-Perez were allegedly tasked with offloading the shipment from the tractor-trailer and separating the drugs from the cucumbers.
Pineda-Perez is allegedly a citizen and national of Mexico with no legal status in the United States. In 2001, Pineda-Perez was deported and removed from the United States following a felony conviction in Arizona for transporting marijuana. He illegally re-entered the United States thereafter and was encountered by federal agents in March 2014, while transporting nearly one kilogram of cocaine in the Atlanta area.
In August 2015, a federal judge sentenced him to six and a half years of imprisonment. Upon completion of his prison sentence, Pineda-Perez was deported for a second time.
Pineda-Perez was charged in a separate criminal complaint with illegal reentry by a removed alien. Members of the public are reminded that the criminal complaints only contain charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with valuable assistance provided by the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Related Federal Cases
- Andres Jasso Jr, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Georgia 2024 · New Mexico
- Shaquandra Woods, Meth Trafficking, Georgia 2023 · Arizona
- Ayala, Meth Conspiracy, Georgia 2023 · Missouri
- Michael P. Ayala, Meth Conspiracy, Georgia 2023 · Washington
- Michael P. Ayala, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2023 · New Mexico
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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