A man and woman, allegedly part of a large drug organization in Mexico, were caught in Marengo Wednesday evening smuggling 120,000 fentanyl pills marked as oxycodone, the sheriff’s office said.
Gloria Gastelum, 54, and German Vargas, 33 – both from the same residence in Tucson, Arizona – were charged with manufacturing and delivering 900 grams or more of fentanyl, a Class X felony, and possession of 200 grams or more of fentanyl, a Class 1 felony.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force received information from an undercover detective that a large quantity of illegal drugs would be entering the area on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Deputies were able to identify the suspects as Gastelum and Vargas traveling in a rental car near Marengo.
Deputies located the vehicle and pulled it over near West Grant Highway and South Ford Street in Marengo Wednesday evening, the sheriff’s office said.
They found the pair allegedly in possession of 120,000 fentanyl pills marked as oxycodone.
Gastelum and Vargas were arrested without incident, the sheriff’s office added.
The two knowingly possessed over 900 grams of fentanyl with the intent to deliver them, the criminal complaints said.
On Thursday, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Gregorowicz filed petitions to detain Gastelum and Vargas under the SAFE-T Act.
Prosecutors said in the petition that the pair poses a “real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community.”
McHenry County Judge Carl Metz granted the petitions to detain Gastelum and Vargas in the McHenry County Jail pending trial.
Metz said that both defendants are flight risks because they are allegedly part of a large drug organization based in Sonora, Mexico, and have the means to avoid prosecution by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Gastelum and Vargas are next scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday for preliminary hearings.