Location: London, California

Incident Date: 3/7/17

Victim: State of California

City: London

Posted by: Media Relations

In an effort to be a proactive positive force multiplier, Sheriff Boudreaux has assigned several detectives to various state and federal narcotics task forces.

The Tulare County Sheriffs Office has one detective assigned to the Central Valley Marijuana Investigation Unit (CVMIT), Fresno Methamphetamine Task Force (FMTF), and the DEA Fast team.

With these additional resources available, it multiplies the resources available to the Sheriff's Office TAGNET team in combating narcotics-related crimes throughout Tulare County.  This coincides with Sheriff Boudreaux's commitment to making our communities safer. 

On March 7, 2017, task force agents (TFAs) from the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ), Bureau of Investigation (BI), Fresno Regional Office (FRO), and Fresno Meth Task Force (FMTF) received information from the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT) that a substantial amount of methamphetamine was being trafficked in the rural area of Tulare County.  

FMTF, along with the Tulare County Sheriff's Office Tulare Area Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team (TAGNET), Cental Valley Marijuana Investigation Team (CVMIT), and the Fresno Police
Department (FPD) Major Narcotics Unit, subsequently arrested Audel VALENCIA, Pablo Mendoza RODRIGUEZ and Gabriel THOMAS for PC182, HS11378 and HS11379.  

All subjects were arrested in the community of London, in Tulare County, for conspiring to sell 27 pounds of methamphetamine.  The suspects were booked into the Tulare County Jail.

After VALENCIA and RODRIGUEZ proved they were in possession of the methamphetamine, agents and detectives arrested VALENCIA and search warrants were served at two residences in London. 

While serving search warrants, THOMAS was arrested.  RODRIGUEZ ran from agents and detectives but he was apprehended a short time later.  In addition to the methamphetamine, agents located cocaine and handgun. 

All three suspects were booked into the Tulare County Jail.  The case is also being considered by the United States Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of California on federal drug trafficking charges. 

FMTF and CVMIT are subsidiaries of the Central Valley California HIDTA.