So. Oregon drug trafficking leader sentenced to 11 years

MEDFORD, Ore. — A leader of a southern Oregon drug trafficking organization is sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine and heroin in the Klamath Falls area, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Southern Oregon law enforcement began investigating a drug trafficking organization led by 24-year-old Rogelio Gomez-Arias, in May 2018, according to court documents. The organization reportedly worked with an individual in Mexico, who sold him drugs for money and firearms. The drugs were to be transported to west coast cities, according to the district attorney’s office.

Investigators purchased three pounds of meth in August of 2019, where Gomez-Arias explained his drug dealing history from Seattle to New York. Later that year, four federal search warrants were issued in Klamath Falls and Dorris, California, seizing more than 37 pounds of methamphetamine, 440 grams of heroin, 14 firearms and nearly $50,000 in cash. Officers also arrested five co-conspirators, including Gomez-Arias.

On July 30 of this year, Gomez-Arias pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. His co-conspirators, including 23-year-old Alexis Chavez-Franco, 36-year-old Domingo Matias-Hernandez and 62-year-old Juan Rodriguez-Ramirez are in custody waiting for trial. 35-year-old Irving Beas Ceballos is on pre-trial release.

Gomez-Arias faces 135 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Basin Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team and the Siskiyou Unified Major Investigation Team. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

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