'Operation Dirty Taco' Busts Taco Truck Selling Meth, Marijuana
OLIVEHURST (CBS13) - Police say a taco truck was serving Mexican food with meth and marijuana on the side.
The bust comes after an undercover operation that lasted three months.
It's called "Operation Dirty Taco," and this one's messy. Police say a taco truck was really just a shell for a mobile meth and marijuana operation in Olivehurst that had veteran investigators saying "Ay Caramba!"
"The tacos weren't that good; they looked to be rather dry and unedible," said Martin Horan, commander of Yuba-Sutter NET-5 Task Force.
Narcotics agents say the tacos were second rate but the drugs were top notch.
"People who made that knew what they were doing," said Horan.
Customers allegedly ordered off the menu for meth and marijuana and were served in the same Styrofoam container as the food.
Employees at the nearby convenience store say they had no idea the drugs were being sold.
"They asked us to set up, and if they could sell tacos. We had no idea they were dealing drugs," said Param Sahota.
Investigators say up to $50,000 a month was rolling in before the taco truck take-down.
"This is one of the first ones I can remember in a 35-year career where we've actually had someone dealing out the window of a food vehicle," said Horan.
Two brothers were busted. The drug task force says Juan and Ernesto Paez sold drugs to undercover agents.
The arrest led agents to an Olivehurst home where $8,500 dollars in cash, and marijuana plants with a street value of $300,000 were seized. Meth worth about $11,000 was found in a hole underneath a chicken coop.
A woman at the home refused to comment, and then threatened to call the cops on CBS13.
Meanwhile, the taco truck is now parked at the family taqueria.
Investigators say the rest of the family may not have known what the brothers were allegedly up to.
