Two California Men Accused of Supplying Meth from Mexico to Utah Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utah Byline: Felicia Martinez Dateline: Salt Lake City, Utah Date: 18 October 2023 Subjects: American Government , Crime

15 Pounds of the Narcotic Located During a Traffic Stop

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging two men from Southern California for allegedly possessing with the intent of distributing methamphetamine in Utah. 

According to court documents, on October 7, 2023, Oscar Soto-Covarrubias, Sr., 73, of San Diego, California, and Oscar Soto Jr., 26, of Fontana, California, were stopped by a Utah Highway Patrol Trooper for an expired registration. During the traffic stop, a drug detection K9 alerted to narcotics. In a subsequent search of the vehicle, agents located and seized a backpack containing approximately 6,780 grams (15 pounds) of field-tested meth. As part of a drug conspiracy investigation, law enforcement identified Soto-Covarrubias, Sr. and Soto Jr. as a Mexico/California-based source of supply of methamphetamine for Utah-based meth redistributors. 

Oscar Soto Covarrubias Sr. and Oscar Soto Jr. are charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Their initial court appearance on the indictment is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. 

U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is part of a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Unified Police Department Metro Gang Unit with assistance from the Utah Highway Patrol. 

Assistant United States Attorney Stephen L. Nelson of the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

This investigation took place under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. 

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 
 

Felicia Martinez
Public Affairs Specialist
Felicia.martinez@usdoj.gov
(801) 325-3237
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Updated October 24, 2023

Press Release Number: 23-70