EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A federal grand jury has indicted an Arizona man who allegedly tried to sell 10 “boats” of fentanyl pills at a New Mexico casino.
Jurors in Albuquerque on Tuesday charged Daron Andrey Holmes Jr., with one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. The charge stems from an undercover investigation initiated by the Isleta Pueblo Police Department last September.
Court records show Isleta police established communication with a suspected drug dealer known on social media as Minkx Apesquad. A tribal investigator posing as a buyer asked him if he had “good beans” and if he would be in the “505” anytime soon.
Beans is street slang for fentanyl pills; 505 refers to the telephone area code for northern New Mexico.
It took more than a month for the suspected dealer to agree to do business with the New Mexico client. Court records show the dealer offer to sell 10 “boats” for a wholesale price of $10,000. A boat is 1,000 fentanyl pills.
On the evening of Oct. 29, tribal police, Homeland Security Investigations agents, New Mexico State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service set up surveillance at the casino in Albuquerque.
A black Kia with Arizona license plates arrived at a pre-arranged area of the casino; the driver parked next to the “client’s” vehicle. A man later identified as Holmes exited the Kia and popped open the trunk, records show.
The man noticed the presence of police officers nearby, made eye contact with one and began to walk away from the vehicle and the scene. Records show members of the arrest team caught up to the suspect and forcibly took him down.
A police dog named Zara sniffed the Kia and alerted her handlers to the presence of narcotics. Police officers and federal agents allegedly found wads of $50 and $20 bills in a black bag and vacuum sealed plastic bags containing thousands of blue pills stamped M-30 to mimic prescription Oxycodone pills. Additional cash was located under the vehicle’s seats.
A field test confirmed the pills were fentanyl, according to court records.
Holmes, 35, faces up to life in prison if convicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said. Prosecutors also are seeking forfeiture of $39,877 seized from the suspect.
No trial date has been set.