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SALT LAKE CITY — Drug raids in Utah and California that led to the seizure of $2 million in heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine may have created a short-term disruption to the drug market in Salt Lake County, but their findings also may represent the latest signs that Utah is increasingly becoming cartel country.
Unified Police described the men arrested in the raids as high-level drug traffickers who likely had direct connections to a drug cartel in Mexico.
Lt. Lex Bell said Tuesday the man arrested in the latest raid at a Midvale hotel, 38-year-old Anthony Richard Aguilera, was traveling with a handgun and two live grenades.
"I think it's fairly apparent that we're talking over 50 pounds of narcotics in a week and grenades that we're dealing with cartel-connected individuals," Bell said.
Bell said he had never seen live grenades turn up in a drug investigation in Utah.
"You'd probably be surprised with how many people involved in the cartels down south do have military training," said an unnamed Unified Police detective.
The detective — who has worked drug cases the past seven years for Unified Police and the Wasatch Range Task Force — requested anonymity over security concerns.
He said cartels have their fingers on Salt Lake's drug pulse and take note of "most every" police drug bust.
"They know — they would know," the detective said of the latest busts.
The first occurred Sept. 3 in West Valley City, where investigators discovered $1 million in heroin and cocaine in five vehicles.
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More than $1 million worth of heroin and cocaine were seized Wednesday night from suspected drug traffickers in vehicles with sophisticated hiding areas, according to police."They all just look like your average car driving up and down the road, yet they've been modified by a professional to transport drugs," Bell said at the time.
Tuesday, police made public the findings of a second raid over the weekend, which netted $800,000 in meth and heroin along with the two grenades.
Bell said detectives also traveled to Stockton, California, and executed a search warrant at a house believed to be connected to the other two cases.
Investigators discovered 5.5 kilos of cocaine inside the home, along with $30,000 cash and a marijuana grow.
At $50 per gram, the seized cocaine would hold an estimated street value of $275,000.
There's a good chance that the cartels themselves might send somebody up here to re-establish the connection within the Salt Lake Valley, to take over. I would expect with the severity of [the busts], there will be a change in the leadership as far as it goes for that group when they come up here.
–Lt. Lex Bell
Bell said nobody appeared to be inside the Stockton house.
The unnamed detective said as a result of the busts, he expected some quality control measures directly from the impacted cartel.
"There's a good chance that the cartels themselves might send somebody up here to re-establish the connection within the Salt Lake Valley, to take over," he said. "I would expect with the severity of [the busts], there will be a change in the leadership as far as it goes for that group when they come up here."
The detective noted there are several "factions" within the county that are dealing, and they have other sources.
"There are a lot of dedicated law enforcement personnel that are looking into other factions, other groups and are trying to do the same thing that happened this last weekend," he said.
Bell said Wednesday experts from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were expected in town Thursday to take a closer look at the seized grenades and hopefully determine their origin.
