GPS tracking device helps troopers arrest alleged drug smugglers in Ohio

CAMBRIDGE, Ohio (WCMH) – Two men arrested and suspected of smuggling approximately 500 grams or more of cocaine in Ohio were indicted by a federal grand jury this week.

According to a United States District Court criminal complaint, Homeland Security Investigations was notified of a white 2013 Honda Accord, displaying an Arizona license plate, that was suspected of transporting drugs and was on a commercial hauler destined for Columbus.

A search of the vehicle on May 31 turned up zero contraband, but an empty compartment, running the length of the vehicle from the center console to the exhaust pipe was discovered. In June, investigators applied for a GPS tracking warrant, which was granted, and the device was deployed on June 2.

Approximately three weeks later, the Ohio State Highway Patrol was notified that the Honda was traveling on Interstate 70 in Guernsey County, just east of Cambridge, Ohio.

The Honda was pulled over for a tinted window violation and the occupants provided troopers with fraudulent Mexican driver’s licenses, the complaint said. A K-9 unit was deployed and a positive alert for narcotics was detected.

Troopers searched the vehicle and reportedly discovered three bricks of powdery substance that tested positive for the presence of cocaine, approximately weighing 3,633 grams.

The United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio, said that 42-year-old Cristian Melendez and 39-year-old Ismerio Garcia-Ontivaro were arrested and that both were in the United States illegally. Melendez was found to have former convictions for trafficking heroin and illegally possessing weapons while Garcia-Ontivaro also had prior drug convictions.

The suspects are each charged with conspiring to possess and possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of a felony. They are scheduled for an arraignment hearing on July 23.