INDIANAPOLIS -- A federal grand jury handed down an indictment this week for a man allegedly found with more than a quarter of a million dollars-worth of cocaine and methamphetamine in his Indianapolis home.
Celso Prieto-Cruz, 29, was indicted on one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The charge stems from a May 15 traffic stop in South Holland, Illinois, during which Illinois State Troopers reportedly found Prieto-Cruz in possession of a cardboard box containing approximately $177,000 in U.S. currency.
During an interview with police, Prieto-Cruz reportedly said he lived in Indianapolis, and that he had approximately 5 kilograms of cocaine and 300 grams of methamphetamine at his residence.
ALSO READ | Indianapolis man killed over missing drugs belonging to the ‘Mexican Mafia’
At 12:20 a.m. the next day, members of the Central Indiana High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Group and IMPD searched Prieto-Cruz’s residence in the 1000 block of North Sheffield Avenue.
In the basement, investigators reported finding a box containing five brick-shaped objects believed to be cocaine, along with approximately 300 grams of suspected methamphetamine.
Cut and sold in 3.5-gram batches known as an “eight-ball,” the cocaine has a potential street value of more than $285,000. The meth has an approximate street value of just under $25,000.
Following his interview, Pietro-Cruz was taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said federal prosecutors believe Pietro-Cruz is in the country illegally, although an immigration detainer wasn’t requested as he has waived his right to a detention hearing.
The case is at least the second time in three months that an out-of-state-arrest led to significant trafficking charges being filed in Indianapolis.
In March, DEA and IMPD officers arrested Guadalupe Saucedo-Pineda – an alleged drug trafficker who operated under the name “La Lupe” – when he showed up at an Indianapolis McDonald’s to pick up 3 pounds of methamphetamine from a courier.
READ MORE | ‘La Lupe:’ Feds charge Mexican national with being endpoint for meth en route to Indianapolis
The courier had been stopped a day earlier in Kansas. He told police he’d been given the meth and an address in Indianapolis where he was supposed to deliver it by a contact in Mexico.
If found guilty, Prieto-Cruz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 10 years in prison. He could also be subject to deportation regardless of the outcome of the case.
MORE FROM THE CRIME BEAT | Indianapolis sets all-time homicide record for third year in a row | MAP: Indy's most dangerous neighborhoods | The Night the Sky Caught Fire: The Untold Stories of Richmond Hill | Convicted child molester reveals how he selected & groomed his victims | Teens killed man over weed and a pair of Air Jordans, police say | MAP: 2017 Indianapolis homicides
