A 26-year-old man is facing federal charges that carry a potential life sentence after a traffic stop in Lincoln County yielded more than 700 pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Francisco Joel Garcia Farias was stopped Tuesday on U.S. Highway 93 near Ash Springs, about 100 miles north of Las Vegas, after a Lincoln County Sheriff's deputy observed the pickup truck he was driving traveling above the posted speed limit.
A narcotics detection K-9 alerted to the presence of controlled substances during the stop. A subsequent search uncovered 13 large storage totes containing numerous vacuum-sealed packages.
Officers recovered 187 packages of a white crystalline substance weighing a total of 307.22 kilograms and 13 brick-shaped packages weighing about 14 kilograms. Field tests returned positive results for methamphetamine and fentanyl, respectively.
Garcia Farias is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment on each count, followed by five years of supervised release.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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