KC Reporter

Three Mexican nationals were charged in federal court today after being caught with over 56 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop on Interstate 29.

Pedro Alberto Quiroz Ayala, 20, Apolinar Gocovachi Pacheco, 24, and Pablo De Jesus Peralta Anguis, 25, all citizens of Mexico, were charged with possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court. They remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a gray 2011 Acura MDX on Interstate 29 near the N.W. 112th Street exit in Kansas City, Mo., at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3. Ayala, who did not have a valid driver’s license, was driving the Acura with a female juvenile in the front passenger seat and Pacheco and Anguis in the back seats.

When the trooper searched the vehicle, he found a large duffle bag in the third-row seating area that contained approximately 55.6 pounds of methamphetamine. He also found a grocery bag containing approximately one pound of methamphetamine on the floorboard where the female juvenile had been sitting and a loaded firearm in the driver’s door pouch.

When the four occupants got out of the vehicle for the search, Ayala and Anguis fled on foot. A manhunt ensued; Ayala was apprehended about half an hour later and Anguis was apprehended after about twelve minutes.

Ayala told investigators they had picked up the drugs at a Walmart parking lot in Omaha, Nebraska. Ayala said he was going to receive $2,000 for transporting the drugs.

The charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.