An ongoing investigation into a suspected Santa Rita drug ring may be the largest methamphetamine case on Guam in recent years.
After federal authorities arrested Julian Robles, the suspect allegedly confessed to smuggling between 50 and 100 pounds of methamphetamine, or “ice,” to Guam over the last two years, according to District Court of Guam documents. Authorities also intercepted 234 mail parcels — each allegedly containing 16 to 20 grams of ice — in this case, court documents state.
Pacific Daily News files state the drug can be worth between $400 and $1,000 per gram, which means 100 pounds of ice could be worth anywhere between $18 million to $45 million on the streets.
Neither Robles nor two other suspects named in court documents have been indicted in federal court. Although the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted this investigation, no one from that agency was available for comment yesterday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Scope of crime
In March, federal prosecutors indicted suspected drug kingpin Mateo Sardoma and nine other suspects.
During a press conference, U.S. Attorney Alicia Limtiaco said the Sardoma case was one of the largest organized crime and narcotic trafficking cases on Guam in recent years.
Courtroom allegations have tied Sardoma to as much as 4 pounds of smuggled ice, according to Pacific Daily News files. That means — if Robles’ alleged confession is correct — his case could involve 25 times more drugs than the Sardoma case.
Pacific Daily News files don’t show any record of another drug case with the same scope as the Robles investigation over the last 15 years. There have been several other large drug busts in recent years, but none of them involve more than 10 pounds of ice, according to court documents.
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