SLO Sheriff’s Office confiscates $617K in drug bust
SANTA MARIA, Calif.-
After an 11-month investigation that began in March 2019, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office is detailing what went into an 11-month investigation to shut down an illegal narcotic trafficking operation on the Central Coast.
It was a huge drug bust that the SLO Sheriff's office conducted confiscating $617,000 dollars in drugs and cash. The busts were made in both San Luis Obispo County and here in Santa Maria.
The year-long investigation came to an end in a three-part bust.
Detectives served a search warrant at South Street in San Luis Obispo in a small and quiet neighborhood.
“I had some drug dealers living across the street from me for a while. They gave me a lot of trouble playing their music really loud and hollering at me,” said a neighbor on South Street.
Other residents of the neighborhood say they are relieved to know that 41-year-old Timothy Moore and 38-year-old Jesse Talaugon are behind bars.
“We recovered approximately $617,000 of narcotics which we are very happy to have taken of the streets,” said San Luis Obispo Sheriff's County Public Information Officer Tony Cipolla.
Officials found methamphetamines, heroin, scales and packaging paraphernalia for narcotics trafficking, and two handguns in the residence.
“We had the CHP assist us, and they stopped the vehicle because they knew they had narcotics on board,” said Cipolla.
They conducted the traffic stop in Santa Maria off of Highway101. Finding more drugs including Fentanyl.
“This was a huge bust! I mean we are talking almost 15 pounds of methamphetamines, 4 pounds of heroin, 2 pounds of Fentanyl…and typically what they do is use the Fentanyl to cut with other things,” said Cipolla.
Officials say Fentanyl poses a higher deadly threat.
“It's a huge risk to the public and the people that are using the product because a small about of Fentanyl can kill you,” said Cipolla.
Officials said as little as two to three milligrams is lethal.
The Sheriff's offices said this kind of massive drug bust has brought light to the supply and demand of drug trafficking across the Central Coast.
The SLO Sheriffs' office also reported that the two arrested men were trafficking the drugs from Mexico.
