More than a kilogram of meth seized in Santa Maria drug bust

A Santa Maria man accused of distributing methamphetamine was arrested this week, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.

On Tuesday, members of the Sheriff’s Special Investigations Bureau, with the assistance of personnel from Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Sheriff’s K-9 Unit, served a search warrant on the 700 block of West Harding Avenue in Santa Maria, said Kelly Hoover, a sheriff’s spokeswoman. Detectives seized more than a kilo of suspected methamphetamine packaged in quarter-pound bundles, and other items consistent with drug trafficking from the target residence, Hoover said.

Detectives also seized a previously reported stolen handgun and a stolen car at the residence, she added.

Julio Cesar Aguilar-Lopez, 38, was arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine for the purpose of sales, possessing a stolen firearm and for possessing a stolen vehicle, Hoover said. He was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail and was being held in lieu of $300,000 bail.