Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Luis Refugio Brindas Guzman was federally indicted for multiple drug crimes in Utah in October.
- Investigators seized large quantities of meth, heroin, fentanyl, and a firearm from Guzman, court documents allege.
- The arrest was part of a larger investigation into narcotic distribution in Salt Lake County, according to the complaint.
SALT LAKE CITY — A 27-year-old man living in Salt Lake County was federally indicted after a large quantity of meth, heroin and fentanyl was recovered in an FBI sting operation, according to charging documents.
Luis Refugio Brindas Guzman faces charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, being an alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and reentry of a previously removed alien. Brindas was previously deported from the U.S. in January, charges say.
The arrest and indictment were part of a larger criminal investigation into Brindas and others believed to be involved in a drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of narcotics in Utah beginning in July, court documents show.
In July, Brindas sold meth to an undercover officer from a Nissan Rogue, according to the complaint.
At the beginning of October, investigators were tipped off that "a large quantity of methamphetamine was available for purchase in Utah," charges say. An undercover agent made a deal with a known associate of the drug trafficking organization, according to court documents, agreeing on the price and quantity of meth, as well as the time and location for the exchange in Salt Lake County.
Agents paid a confidential source, wearing a wire, to meet with the local drug courier, while they "set up in the area for surveillance and arrest operations," court documents say.
The confidential informant met with a man at the agreed-upon location, charges say. "After a short conversation," he was told "the narcotics were in a different vehicle, a Nissan Rogue, which was parked only a short distance away," according to the charges.
Brindas then drove up to the location, the complaint says, and the confidential source "provided an arrest signal and agents secured all parties a short time later."
A search of Brindas' car produced a package weighing 6,682 grams — almost 15 pounds — of field-verified meth, along with a small amount of heroin and the burnt end of a marijuana joint, court documents say.
The agents then got a search warrant for Brindas' residence in Salt Lake County, turning up another 7,145 grams — almost 16 pounds — of meth, along with 1,215 grams of heroin, approximately 35,000 fentanyl pills and a 9 mm handgun, charges say.
Brindas was booked into Salt Lake County jail on Oct. 2, according to the jail roster. Judge Daphne Oberg has ordered he be held in custody pending trial, based on his "unmanageable risk of nonappearance," as "there is no indication he has any stability in the U.S. or any ties here," a detention order states.
Brindas' charges follow two other Salt Lake County men, indicted on Wednesday in two separate cases that turned up over 100,000 fentanyl pills, according to investigations. It is not clear if these cases, and the associated investigations into unnamed drug trafficking organizations, are related.
