Drug task force seizes 20 pounds of meth, $44K

The Clark-Vancouver Regional Drug Task Force on Wednesday seized 20 pounds of methamphetamine and $44,000 in cash.

Detectives arrested Jose A. Barajas-Rodriguez, 28, of Woodburn, Ore. in the 1900 block of Northeast 78th Street. At the time, the man was allegedly delivering a large amount of meth to a customer, said Cmdr. Mike Cooke, task force leader.

Barajas-Rodriguez was booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of three counts of delivery of a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

After the arrest, detectives searched a warehouse at 21305 N.E. 10th Ave. near Ridgefield where they thought Barajas-Rodriguez was storing meth, according to a task force news release. It said detectives found 20 pounds of meth and $20,000 in cash. Agents from the Portland DEA office also searched Barajas-Rodqiguez’s Woodburn home and found an additional $24,000 in cash, the news release said.

The arrest and seizure is the result of a long-term investigation in which detectives made several purchases of meth from Barajas-Rodriguez, Cooke said.

“This latest case is just another example of the large amounts of methamphetamine being trafficked to Clark County from Southern California and Mexico,” he said.

In August, the task force seized a record-breaking 74 pounds of meth. The two cases were conducted simultaneously but are not related, Cooke said.