Timoteo Gomez, Methamphetamine Trafficking, California 2020

RIVERSIDE, California – In a major blow to the region’s narcotics trade, federal authorities today busted a massive methamphetamine trafficking ring that funneled large quantities of the illicit substance from Mexico into the Inland Empire.

According to a 19-count indictment unsealed today, the ring, which operated from April to August 2020, purchased methamphetamine from suppliers in Mexico and Los Angeles and Riverside counties. Lead defendants Timoteo Gomez, 48, of Riverside, and Javier Rodriguez, a.k.a. “Harvey,” 54, of Riverside, allegedly oversaw the operation, which distributed the methamphetamine throughout the Inland Empire.

The indictment details two instances in which the conspirators attempted to smuggle massive quantities of methamphetamine across the U.S. border. In April 2020, they attempted to smuggle 46.6 pounds (21.2 kilograms) of methamphetamine from Mexico across the port of entry at Calexico and into Riverside County. In May 2020, another co-conspirator allegedly attempted to drive a load of 90.4 pounds (41 kilograms) of methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico through the San Ysidro port of entry.

Law enforcement seized over 150 pounds (68 kilograms) of methamphetamine and $31,035 in cash during the investigation, which was led by the FBI’s Inland Empire Safe Streets Task Force.

The indictment charges Gomez and Rodriguez with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, which carries a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence and a statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The 12 defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in the United States District Court in Riverside and downtown Los Angeles. Three other defendants are already in federal or state custody on unrelated charges, and federal prosecutors will seek to have them brought into federal court. Four defendants remain at large.

The investigation focused on the criminal activities of the Riverside-based Casa Blanca Rifa criminal street gang, with the goal of combating drug trafficking and associated violence in the region.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Trisotto is prosecuting the case.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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