Three Men Aboard Greyhound Buses Indicted for Drug Trafficking

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that three men traveling through Kansas City on Greyhound buses were indicted by a federal grand jury, in two separate and unrelated cases, for possessing large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution.

USA v. Rios

Cesar David Rios, 41, of Tujunga, Calif., was charged with possessing heroin to distribute in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury today in Kansas City, Mo. The federal indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Rios on March 17, 2015.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a police detective used a drug-sniffing dog to conduct a check of the baggage compartment underneath a bus at the Greyhound bus terminal located at 1101 S. Troost Ave., Kansas City, Mo. The dog alerted to the scent of narcotics within a bag, the affidavit says, which had a claim ticket for Rios attached. A ticket counter employee paged Rios, who responded to the front counter.

Rios, who had a one-way ticket to Charlotte, N. Carolina, gave the detective permission to search his luggage. According to the affidavit, the detective discovered two bundles wrapped in black electrical tape hidden at the bottom of the bag, containing a total of 3.7 kilograms of heroin.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes, IV. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

USA v. Sanchez, et al

Gilberto Moreno Sanchez, 38, address unknown, and Manuel Enrique Urena-Vega, 48, address unknown, were charged in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. The federal indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Sanchez and Urena-Vega on March 3, 2015.

The indictment alleges that Sanchez and Urena-Vega participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. They are also charged together in one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Sanchez is also charged with illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. Urena-Vega is also charged with making false statements by providing a false name to law enforcement officers.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a Kansas City police detective saw Sanchez and Urena-Vega get off a Greyhound bus at the Greyhound bus terminal located at 1101 S. Troost Ave., Kansas City, Mo. Sanchez gave the detective permission to search his black duffel bag, where the detective found two containers wrapped in gray duct tape. Urena-Vega also gave the detective permission to search his suitcase, where the detective found two identical containers wrapped in gray duct tape.

According to the affidavit, the containers in Sanchez’s duffel bag contained 2.1 pounds of cocaine and the containers in Urena-Vega’s suitcase contained 2.6 pounds of methamphetamine.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Y. Tabor. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.