May 21, 2010

OKLAHOMAN ARRESTED WITH SEVEN POUNDS OF METH PLEADS GUILTY TO INTERSTATE DRUG SMUGGLING

WICHITA, KAN. – Jesus Ayala, 24, Oklahoma City, Okla., has pleaded guilty to one count of 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.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 5, 2010. The government is recommending a sentence of 60 months in federal prison. The Wichita Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blair Watson is prosecuting.