3 faced federal drug charges
RUSSELLVILLE — Three people are facing federal drug charges after a grand jury returned separate indictments earlier this month.
Their arrests in 2024 led to the discovery and seizure of drugs with a combined street total of $863,200.
Angel Delgado Soto, 51, was charged with one count each of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines and heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, and an alien in possession of a firearm.
Soto was originally arrested and charged with five counts of drug trafficking on April 26, 2024, according to court records.
Members of the Russellville Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Region Narcotics Team, the North Alabama Drug Task Force, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office and the DEA found and seized six kilograms of methamphetamines, 2½ pounds of marijuana, 11½ pounds of heroin, 117 grams of fentanyl and 1.12 pounds of cocaine.
The total street value of the drugs was $683,000, according to Joe Hargett, who is captain of the Russellville Police Department and an officer with the DEA in Huntsville.
Hargett said law enforcement had received information that led to a search warrant that was executed on April 26, 2024, at 233 Twin Mountain Loop.
Law enforcement also found and seized more than $69,000 in cash and 10 firearms.
Soto also faces a federal criminal complaint, which was filed at the same time of his arrest in 2024, stating he is a citizen of Mexico who was previously deported on Nov. 30, 2000, according to federal court documents.
ICE records positively associated Soto with an alien registration file and FBI number, according to the court documents.
Record checks on Soto showed a criminal history of money laundering, altering, falsifying or forging an auto title, selling cocaine, conspiracy to sell marijuana, illegal re-entry into the U.S., and previous deportations from the U.S., according to court documents.
In a separate case, a federal grand jury charged Jose Bahena Lopez, 53, and Hugo Garcia-Granados, 50, with one count each of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamines, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines.
Lopez and Garcia-Granados were arrested on Sept. 9, 2024, on a traffic stop in Franklin County.
When deputies searched the vehicle, they found two kilograms of crystal methamphetamines in a speaker box inside the vehicle, according to Hargett.
The total street value of the meth is estimated to be $180,000, Hargett said.
Assisting the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in the arrest of Lopez and Garcia-Granados were members of the FBI, DEA, Russellville Police Department and the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office.
All three suspects were removed from the Franklin County Jail Oct. 15 and transferred to a federal detention facility, said sheriff’s Sgt. Kyle Palmer.
