Vancouver drug suspect may be target of FBI probe

A 26-year-old Vancouver man was arraigned Friday in Clark County Superior Court after being accused earlier this month of possessing more than 2 kilograms of methamphetamine in his Vancouver apartment.

Hugo Alberto Urbina-Garcia of Vancouver may also be a suspect in an FBI investigation into an organized drug ring that moves large quantities of the drug on airliners, according to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Urbina-Garcia was charged Monday with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.

Judge Robert Lewis appointed Vancouver attorney Jack Peterson to defend Urbina-Garcia.

He has been held since Dec. 14 after the Clark County Drug Task Force received information from the Portland Police Bureau that a resident of a unit at the Evergreen Ridge Apartments on Northeast 17th Avenue in Minnehaha might be involved in drug trafficking, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Rachael Probstfeld said earlier this month that the FBI is investigating the alleged drug ring. A spokeswoman for the FBI’s Portland office has said the agency cannot comment on pending investigations.

According to the affidavit, Urbina-Garcia told police that he was storing the drug for someone else and planned to package it for sale before returning it to its owner.

He remains in the Clark County Jail on $250,000 bail. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 11.

Paris Achen: 360-735-4551; http://twitter.com/Col_Courts; http://facebook.com/ColTrends; paris.achen@columbian.com.