Riverside Man Who Smuggled Meth from Mexico Sentenced to 21 Years

Methamphetamine seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility in San Diego County, Calif., on May 18, 2021. Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

A Riverside man and lead defendant in a methamphetamine smuggling operation was sentenced to 21 years in prison May 6 for his role in smuggling the drug from Mexico to the Inland Empire.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, 51-year-old Timoteo Gomez conspired with others to smuggle methamphetamine across multiple Mexico and U.S. points of entry. In total, authorities seized more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine and $31,035 in cash, officials said in a May 6 press release.

In January 2022, Mr. Gomez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He has been in federal custody since his June 2021 arrest, officials said.

Mr. Gomez allegedly worked with others from at least April 2020 to August 2020 to purchase the drug from suppliers in Mexico, and Los Angeles and Riverside counties with some of those involved selling it in the Inland Empire.

In April 2020 Mr. Gomez and others smuggled over 46 pounds of meth across the U.S. port of entry in Calexico, according to the press release, and brought the drug into Riverside County.

The next month, one of Mr. Gomez’s partners attempted to do the same with a 90-pound load of the drug across the San Ysidro port of entry but was stopped by law enforcement, authorities said.

Federal prosecutors have secured 16 convictions in the case.

Investigators first learned of the operation while focused on the Riverside-based Casa Blanca Rifa street gang, with ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking and gang violence in Riverside, according to the same announcement.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Inland Empire Safe Streets Task Force, which is made up of multiple local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Riverside Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and theInternal Revenue Service.