Colusa man deported after drug arrest (Colusa Sun-Herald)

Colusa man deported after drug arrest
Friday, Apr 24 2009, 1:03 pm
By Rob Young/Appeal-Democrat

A Colusa man was deported Thursday following his arrest last week in a three-county drug and gang sweep.

Operation Hammer, an undercover operation aimed at drugs, guns and gangs, nailed 18 suspects, including the Colusa man and his girlfriend, a drug enforcement official said.

“Operation Hammer is the latest example of Net 5’s and the Sutter County Gang Task Force’s aggressive, proactive, investigative approach to diminish the availability of drugs and gang activity in the Yuba-Sutter area,” said Mike Hudson, commander of the Yuba-Sutter Narcotic Enforcement Team (Net 5).

With support from local law enforcement, task force agents arrested Edgar Sanchez-Vazquez, 29, of Colusa on April 17 on suspicion of selling guns to gangs. Vazquez allegedly had a stolen 9mm handgun and nearly $2,000 in drug money in his possession.

Vazquez’s girlfriend, Martha Patricia Rocha, 29, was arrested the previous day at the couple’s home in the 200 block of Allen Circle.

Both were booked into Colusa County Jail on suspicion of selling methamphetamine, child endangerment and illegal entry. Sanchez-Vazquez was also charged with street gang participation, receiving stolen property, both felonies, and misdemeanor weapons possession.

The couple’s three children, ages 3 to 7, were placed in protective custody. Sanchez-Vazquez’s 17-year-old brother, who was also living there, was arrested on suspicion of selling marijuana and street gang participation.

Sanchez-Vazquez was deported to Mexico on Thursday by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That same day, Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies transported Rocha to San Jose on an outstanding petty theft arrest warrant, a jail spokeswoman confirmed.

Seven of the 18 suspects arrested in the sweep are known gang members or associates. The six-month operation also resulted in the seizure of six guns, 389 marijuana plants, 240 grams of methamphetamine, nine grams of cocaine, two grams of hashish and more than $12,000 in drug proceeds, said Hudson.