A Riverside man, identified as the kingpin of a drug trafficking operation, has been handed a 21-year jail term for channeling meth from Mexico into the U.S. Timoteo Gomez, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal after pleading guilty to a conspiracy count, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Gomez, apprehended in June 2021, will now be destined to spend over two decades in federal lockup. His arrest was part of a larger sweep targeting a network accused of smuggling and distributing significant quantities of narcotics in Southern California. It was in January 2022 when he admitted to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, as per the office's release.
The operation, which lasted from April to August 2020, involved Gomez and his associates acquiring meth from sources both in Mexico and across Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. The group was busted after smuggling 46.6 pounds of meth across the border at Calexico and attempting to bring in another 90.4 pounds through the San Ysidro port of entry, as disclosed by the Justice Department's release.
Following a thorough investigation led by the FBI’s Inland Empire Safe Streets Task Force, law enforcement officers were able to seize over 150 pounds of methamphetamine and more than $30,000 in cash. Sixteen convictions have to date been secured in this sprawling case that also attempted to dismantle the operations of the Riverside-based Casa Blanca Rifa criminal street gang.
Assistant United States Attorney Eli A. Alcaraz, from the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, took charge of the prosecution. The task force included diverse agencies like the FBI, DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and the Riverside Police Department. Support also came from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service.
For further details, the U.S. Attorney's Office offers contact with Public Information Officer Ciaran McEvoy, available at [email protected] or by phone at (213) 894-4465. More information and updates can be found at the U.S. Attorney's Office website.
