Aug. 6, 2010

OKLAHOMAN ARRESTED WITH SEVEN POUNDS OF METH SENTENCED FOR DRUG SMUGGLING

WICHITA, KAN. – Jesus Ayala, 24, Oklahoma City, Okla., has been sentenced to five years for interstate travel in furtherance of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.

Ayala initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Jan. 21, 2010. The complaint alleged that on Jan. 19, 2010, a Wichita police officer assigned to the department’s Special Community Action Team was monitoring traffic northbound on Interstate 35 when he saw a 1993 Lexus change lanes, forcing another driver to swerve to avoid hitting it. The officer stopped the Lexus, which was driven by Ayala.

When the officer’s drug sniffing dog, Elza, walked around the Lexus, she signaled the presence of drugs beneath the driver’s door. After the car was impounded, investigators removed the front bumper to find a hollow frame. Hidden in the frame were 3.2 kilograms (more than 7 pounds) of methamphetamine.

Welch commended the Wichita Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Blair Watson for their work on the case.