Undercover agent helps intercept 21.2 kilos of meth delivered in Gulfport

Two people accused of delivering 21.2 kilos of meth — that’s 46.7 pounds — in Gulfport also are believed to be in the United States without permission, court documents show.

Federal drug agents arrested Miguel Villalobos Chavez, 35, and Maria Marlina Martinez Marcias, 33, Saturday in the back parking lot of a Best Western hotel on U.S. 49.

A criminal complaint filed by a Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force member tells how the alleged drug deal unfolded.

A confidential informant had advised the Task Force agent, a Mississippi Highway Patrol state trooper, of several months of negotiations with a drug broker in Mexico. The broker reportedly asked the informant to have his or her “people” meet a courier, help off-load the meth and give the courier a partial payment.

The broker gave the informant the courier’s telephone number.

About noon Saturday, a DEA agent and a second confidential informant met to discuss how to handle the delivery. They notified the original informant, asking the person to call the courier.

The courier said he was in a blue Jeep Cherokee at Morelias Mexican Bar and Grill on U.S. 49, the complaint said.

The second informant met the man and a woman at the restaurant and they all reportedly agreed to exchange the meth for money at a less visible location. They drove in separate vehicles to the Best Western across the highway and parked behind the hotel.

Marcias “quickly expressed her concerns of the location,” fearing the possibility of security cameras and the number of vehicles traveling in the area, the complaint said. The informant assured her no one would notice.

Marcias released the hood latch on the courier vehicle, the complaint said, and stood as “lookout” while Chavez and the informant began to unload several packages of meth from the doors of the courier’s vehicle. When the informant saw the meth, the informant gave the Task Force agent a “take down” signal. Agents suddenly appeared and took the couple into custody without incident.

An interpreter has been called in to translate during the couple’s hearings in U.S. District Court.

Federal marshals took Chavez and Marcias to their initial court appearance Monday.

Magistrate Judge Michael T. Parker denied bond for each of them after a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

They have no permission to be in the U.S., no ties to the U.S. and have “significant ties” to another country, Parker wrote.

They also are held for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The case will be sent to a grand jury in the Southern District of Mississippi.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Undercover agent helps intercept 21.2 kilos of meth delivered in Gulfport."