Federal court documents connected to the recent arrests of four Emporians, a Texas resident and two Mexicans illegally living in Emporia on significant drug distribution charges indicate the inquiry developed months ago as part of work by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in the Kansas City metro area.
Following conversations between the KBI and a confidential informant in late January, the agency and informant worked together to buy nearly 10 pounds or over 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine as part of five different transactions by mid-March and then collaborated to buy 33 pounds, or 15 kilos, at a Kansas City, Kansas, grocery store in late March. Related information from a suspect arrested at the scene indicated meth traffic between Kansas City and Emporia, and other information from a search warrant included messages and location data, including a home in Emporia’s 800 block of West Fifth and a ranch owned by defendant Troy Wagaman in the 1200 block of Road D, about eight miles southwest of Emporia.
Late last month, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent discussed Customs and Border Protection reports about border crossings between the United States and Mexico — specifically a charter bus with a Texas tag that had crossed the border on three different occasions in March and April, either with few or no passengers riding. The April crossing included an inspection at Eagle Pass, Texas, and license plate reader data indicated the bus had come to Emporia for all three trips before heading to Mexico. A secondary investigation led to the discovery of tampered bolts near the fuel tank, which can indicate hidden compartments for illegal activity. That search did not find meth, although there was a crystal substance near the gas cap. The bus was fitted with a tracking device and allowed on its way.
At the same time the HSI agent was talking about the bus, a KBI agent reached out to Emporia Police to discuss information from a confidential informant, including a trip by the suspect bus to Emporia in late March.
HSI also learned May 3 the bus was leaving Michoacan, Mexico, and heading back north. At the Eagle Pass border crossing, a K-9 alerted on possible drugs and a subsequent sample from a gas tank tested positive for meth. Again, the bus was allowed through — this time with another tracking device attached. The bus arrived at the rural Emporia address Monday morning. As part of a warrant executed shortly after the bus arrival, authorities say they found $20,000, about 75 guns and between 88-96 gallons of liquid meth in a gas tank false compartment at the Road D address. There was also a meth conversion lab inside a shipping container. A search following a stakeout on West Fifth yielded over 130 pounds or just under 60 kilograms of finished meth, as well as a conversion lab, according to authorities.
The van, meanwhile, was last owned by a person connected to narcotics trafficking, including the seizure of almost $130,000 in currency and 17 kilograms of heroin from commercial buses he owned and operated.
Arrested and charged:
• Elizabeth Benitez, 33, of Emporia
• Jesus Cruz Rodriguez, 28, of Emporia
• Troy Wagaman, 42, of Emporia
• Moises Cervantes Sanchez, 67, of McAllen, Texas
• Omar Villa Carranza, 45, a Mexican national unlawfully residing in Emporia
• Tiburcio Ayala Rangel, 42, a Mexican national unlawfully residing in Emporia
Each have been charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine. All six defendants face 10 years to life in federal prison, supervised release of at least five years and fines of up to $10 million absent prior convictions for serious drug or violent felonies. Prison terms can go to a minimum of 25 years and fines can go to $20 million if there are prior convictions.
Benitez, Rodriguez, Sanchez and Wagaman are scheduled for a detention hearing in Kansas City, Kansas, at 1:30 pm Monday. Carranza has waived his detention hearing and currently does not have an upcoming court date scheduled on the federal Public Access to Court Electronic Records website. Rangel, meanwhile, is being temporarily detained because he was not a US citizen at the time of the alleged crimes.
