Whatcom detectives find 3 men with $60,000, 2 kilos of cocaine and an AR-15 rifle
Three Yakima County residents were arrested Friday evening in Whatcom County after they allegedly were found in the north Bellingham area with $60,000 cash, two kilograms of cocaine, an AR-15 style rifle and a handgun.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office booked Miguel Alonso-Mendoza, 44, and Javier Jesus Vargas-Arias, 40, into Whatcom County Jail July 24 on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliever, while Francisco Meraz-Vargas, 39, was booked on suspicion of criminal conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to deliver.
Jail records show Alonso-Mendoza and Vargas-Arias are each being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, while Meras-Vargas was released Monday on $90,000 bail. All three are from Mabton, according to a sheriff’s office release on the incident Wednesday, July 29.
The trio traveled from the Yakima area to Whatcom County Friday for the purpose of purchasing a large amount of cocaine, selling it and using the profits to buy an even larger quantity of cocaine, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records.
The Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force received tip information about several subjects traveling from the Yakima Valley to Whatcom County to purchase multiple kilograms of cocaine, according to the release.
Following a long-term investigation, sheriff’s office detectives and members of the Gang and Drug Task Force stopped the three men in north Bellingham on Friday, and it was then that detectives found $60,000 cash, two kilos of cocaine and the two guns, documents state.
The cocaine field tested positive, and had an estimated street value of $55,000, according to the release.
Meraz-Vargas admitted to driving Alonso-Mendoza and Vargas-Arias to Whatcom County for the narcotics transactions and to providing a large sum of money for the purchase of cocaine on Friday, according to court documents.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 1:17 PM.
