Jury convicts man of possessing $330K worth of meth, fentanyl
Published on August 29, 2024
GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – Earlier this month, a Weld County jury found a man guilty of possessing more than $330,000 worth of drugs in 2022 following a traffic stop for speeding.
On September 13, 2022, a Weld County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled over 36-year-old Jorge Garcia-Loya on Highway 85 in Gilcrest. During the stop, a K9 unit detected the scent of narcotics in the truck. A search of the vehicle revealed approximately 4,000 M-30 pills, suspected to contain fentanyl, along with more than five pounds of methamphetamine.
Later that same day, a search of Garcia-Loya’s residence in Henderson, Colorado, conducted with the assistance of another K9 unit, led to the discovery of an additional 26 pounds of methamphetamine and 60,000 fentanyl pills.
In total, the drugs seized from both the traffic stop and the defendant’s home had an estimated street value of $330,000. At the time of this investigation in September of 2022, this was the largest seizure of the counterfeit blue M-30 fentanyl pills in Weld County.
The investigation also revealed that this drug trafficking operation had ties to Mexico, and was believed to have transported large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl into New Mexico, before the final destination of Greeley. The drugs were transported to Colorado via a vehicle's gas tank.
Garcia-Loya was convicted on several charges, including two counts of possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance – fentanyl, two counts of possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance, and one count of speeding.
The Weld County Drug Task Force, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office and its K9 Unit, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation investigated this case.
Garcia-Loya's sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 27th at 1:00 PM in Division 16. He faces a potential sentence of up to 128 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Chief Deputy District Attorneys Patrick Roche and Michael Pirraglia prosecuted this case.