KANSAS CITY — A California man was charged in federal court Friday with smuggling more than four kilograms of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl on a bus traveling through Kansas City, Missouri, from Los Angeles, California.
Matthew John Gomez, 27, has been charged with one count of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute in connection with a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Missouri .
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, members of the Missouri Western Interdiction Task Force (MoWIN) observed Gomez at a local bus terminal on Wednesday, March 16, as he got off a bus driving through Kansas. City from Los Angeles. . Gomez wore a backpack and carried a large gym bag. He walked through the entrance doors of the bus station and paced down the sidewalk while making a call on his cell phone. A police detective contacted Gomez, who said he was heading to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The detective asked Gomez if he would consent to a search of his luggage. Gomez put his gym bag on the ground and was in the process of removing his backpack when he quickly moved away from the detective in an attempt to flee. A struggle ensued and Gomez was eventually placed under arrest and escorted into the terminal.
A police dog alerted to the presence of drugs in Gomez’s sports bag and backpack. Officers searched Gomez’s backpack and found three large heat-sealed packets containing numerous blue M30 pills. Although blue M30 pills usually contain 30 milligrams of oxycodone hydrochloride, law enforcement officials know that these pills are usually counterfeit pills made with fentanyl. The gross weight of the pills was 4,127 grams, or about 9.1 pounds. A Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory forensic specialist has confirmed that the recovered pills contain fentanyl.
Gomez told investigators he was paid $500 before leaving Los Angeles and was to receive an additional $2,000 upon his return.
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