A man had been trafficking fentanyl and cash from Mexico into Flathead Valley since May. | Adobe Stock
A man had been trafficking fentanyl and cash from Mexico into Flathead Valley since May. | Adobe Stock
A Mexican citizen was arrested after the Flathead County Sheriff's Office reported he allegedly trafficked 12,000 fentanyl pills and $62,000 in cash to the Kalispell area.
Cuauhtemoc Cervantes Samaniego, 29, has been charged in federal court with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, according to Northwest Montana Drug Task Force (NWDTF) members.
"If convicted of the most serious charge, Samaniego faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years to life of supervised release," according to NBC Montana.
Officers believe Samaniego trafficked fentanyl into the Flathead Valley beginning in May until the time of his arrest. They located a semiautomatic pistol in the arrest, according to the agents.
NWDTF agents learned of a possible sizable load of fentanyl that was going to be transported from San Diego to Kalispell for distribution and that the source of the fentanyl was a person known as “Johnny.”
Agents also learned that “Johnny” was having large quantities of fentanyl transported to Kalispell for distribution before law enforcement received information that “Johnny” would be arriving at a location in Kalispell in a black Honda Civic to conduct a drug transaction on Oct. 4.
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