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JACNET seizes 2 lbs. of meth and arrests four By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Narcotics officers seized two pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of close to $50,000 and arrested four suspected illegal aliens during a Sunday undercover operation in Medford. "Two pounds in a seizure is a real significant amount for us," said Lt. Jim Anderson of the Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team, which made the seizure and arrests. "Usually, we're seizing in the ounce quantities, so anytime you're talking about pounds, that's a lot." JACNET officers working undercover arranged to meet with Louisa Rosas-Serrano, 33, of Medford, about 3:30 a.m. near Medford's south I-5 interchange. Officers seized the two pounds of illegal drugs and arrested Rosas-Serrano on charges of possession, manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine, police said. Bulk methamphetamine sells for about $6,000 a pound among drug traffickers, but the 32 ounces of meth could have fetched as much as $50,000 cash when cut into smaller quantities with foreign substances added to stretch the volume, Anderson said. Anderson said the case culminated after a "short-term" investigation and investigators did not know what drug history, if any, Rosas-Serrano has in Jackson County. After the arrest, police searched Rosas-Serrano's apartment at 1870 Barnett Road and found three suspected illegal immigrants, police said. One of the men, Gabriel Maldonado-Cuevas, 29, was arrested in June 2000 by JACNET officers, who also seized 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine, Anderson said. Maldonado-Cuevas was sentenced to 18 months in prison and deported in that case, and his presence Sunday in Medford came as a surprise to police, Anderson said. Also arrested at the Barnett Road residence on alleged immigration violations were Antonio Garcia-Reyes, 19, and Juan Antonia Gomez-Mendoza, 25, police said. All four suspects were lodged at the Jackson County Jail, where they were being held on no-bail holds filed on behalf of the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service. The case will be forwarded to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Medford for possible prosecution on federal drug-trafficking charges, Anderson said. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.