2 arrested as massive SLO drug bust turns up $600,000 in meth, heroin and fentanyl
An 11-month narcotics investigation by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office resulted in a massive bust as the agency seized more than $600,000 worth of drugs and large amounts of cash.
Authorities believe the two men arrested in the case are part of a network of people bringing drugs directly from Mexico to SLO County, the Sheriff’s Office said in a new release.
The agency’s Special Operations Unit started its investigation in March 2019, culminating in a traffic stop on South Street in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 20, the release said.
Authorities served a search warrant on a car driven by Jesse Daniel Talaugon, 38, of San Luis Obispo, that turned up drugs and cash, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Detectives took 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine and pre-packaged baggies of suspected heroin, as well as suspected fentanyl — a synthetic opioid — and $4,000 cash, according to the release.
Talaugon was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to transport/sell narcotics, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance for sale and gun charges.
Talaugon was taken into custody at San Luis Obispo County Jail, where he was being held Wednesday evening in lieu of $300,000.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, detectives then served a search warrant related to the investigation of a home on the 100 block of South Street associated with Talaugon and another suspected drug trafficker, Timothy Kieth Moore, 41, of San Luis Obispo.
During the home search, detectives allegedly seized about 10 pounds of meth, roughly three-quarters of a kilogram of heroin, scales and packing indicating narcotics trafficking, and two handguns.
On Feb. 19, the CHP initiated a traffic stop on Highway 101 of a car driven by Moore, the Sheriff’s Office said.
One pound of meth, about one kilogram of heroin, one kilogram of fentanyl, a loaded handgun and bags of pills holding a combination of fentanyl and Tylenol were discovered in the car, the agency said, as well as than $2,000 in cash.
Moore was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to transport/sell narcotics, possession of a controlled substance for sale and gun charges. He was not listed in jail custody as of Wednesday evening.
The estimated street value of the drugs totals $617,000.
“Of particular note as to the toxicity of Fentanyl, two to three milligrams is considered a lethal dose,” Sheriff’s Office officials said in a news release.
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