Gang members become inmates to smuggle drugs into jail
Michael Gonzalez, left, and David Sanchez, right, are seen in police mug shots.
Two weeks ago, Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team investigators said they gained intelligence that Poor Side Watsonville gangsters were conspiring to deliberately get one of their members arrested for a minor offense.
Once booked into jail, the smuggler could pass off drugs to high-ranking gang members who are locked up in Santa Cruz' jail, crime team Sgt. Eric Montalbo said.
On Dec. 13 at 4:40 p.m., Watsonville police officers responded to a 911 call about gang activity on Second Street in Watsonville.
"Abraham Sanchez was found lurking in the area and was contacted by officers," Montalbo said.
Officers said they became suspicious that Sanchez and a second man at the scene, 22-year-old Michael Gonzalez, were part of the drug smuggling plot. They were both arrested for violating their probation terms.
"Agents were able to conduct a search of Gonzalez and they located several types of narcotics concealed within Gonzalez’ rectum," Montalbo said. "The narcotics had been meticulously packaged in a way that would allow an individual to conceal these items within his body without contaminating the items or overdosing."
In total, Gonzalez had 28.9 grams of marijuana, 11.6 grams of black tar heroin, 0.6 grams of power cocaine, and 4.7 grams of crystal methamphetamine all hidden inside his rectum, Montalbo said.
Investigators said there were four primary conspirators in the drug smuggling plot: Gonzalez, 25-year-old Sanchez, 20-year-old David Sanchez, and 25-year-old Angel Torres.
The crime team handed their investigation to the Santa Cruz District Attorney's Office on Wednesday and recommended that the four suspected gang members be prosecuted for the following charges: transportation and possession of narcotics for sale or distribution; conspiracy to distribute narcotics; and conspiracy to bring narcotics into a jail facility.