Federal ex-convict charged with possessing over $400,000 in illegal narcotics
A man previously convicted of federal drug charges now is accused of possessing over $400,000 in illegal drugs in Pierce County.
Prosecutors charged Moises Aispuro Meza, 46, with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Meza’s behalf during his arraignment Friday afternoon. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set bail at $250,000, records show.
Court documents say Meza was arrested in an operation conducted by the Special Investigations Unit of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrested Meza on Thursday while serving a search warrant at his Lakewood-area apartment on Berkeley Avenue Southwest, according to charging documents.
An investigator said in the incident report they watched Meza for several hours before contacting him at his apartment. Deputies breached the front door when no one answered their knocks.
Documents show deputies detained Meza. He told deputies he only had a Mexican identification card and primarily spoke Spanish.
A Spanish-speaking officer from the Tacoma Police Department advised Meza of his Miranda rights, documents show. Meza told a deputy he had been living in the apartment for a month and that there were drugs inside. He was the only person staying there.
Documents show Meza said he was in the narcotics business but would discuss details or disclose who he worked with.
Meza was booked into the Pierce County Jail, according to charging documents.
Two plastic totes were found in Meza’s bedroom closet that allegedly contained 44,118 grams of meth and 2,273.5 grams of heroin. Documents show the street value of the meth is about $311,240. The street value of the heroin found is about $100,000.
Nearly $9,000 in cash, working digital gram scales, crib notes and packaging material were also found in Meza’s apartment, documents show.
Meza was convicted in 2008 in New Mexico’s U.S. District Court for possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance, 451.5 pounds of marijuana.
