Operation Dirty Taco: California Food Truck Accused Of Selling Meth And Marijuana
A California food truck has been busted for selling meth and marijuana alongside its menu items, according to CBS San Francisco. The sting, dubbed “Operation Dirty Taco” by authorities, involved a three month investigation into allegations that a local food truck was, in reality, a front for an illegal drug operation.
“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,” explained Yuba-Sutter NET-5 Task Force commander Martin Horan. Considering that this sort of scenario has transpired in countless television shows and motion pictures, that’s actually kind of surprising.
Brothers Juan and Ernesto Paez, the men who own the taco/pot hybrid, allegedly sold some of their unlisted offerings to undercover officers, an act which may have sealed their fate. A quick search of the truck revealed over $10,000 in drugs and money. To make matters worse, the tacos themselves weren’t the tastiest police had ever encountered, though the drugs were reportedly top notch.
Delish reports that the convenience store where the truck set up shop was completely unaware that the Paez brothers were dealing drugs in the parking lot. Despite the fact that the truck was bringing in roughly $50,000 a month from peddling drugs, nobody seemed to notice that anything shady was going down.
After arresting the brothers, authorities paid a visit to their home. In addition to finding $300,000 worth of marijuana plants, police unearthed $11,000 worth of meth from beneath a chicken coop. The brothers also reportedly had $8,500 in cash lying around the house. Family members, who were clearly a little freaked out by the sudden appearance of law enforcement officials, apparently had no idea that the brothers were up to no good.
According to The SFist, the brothers are currently being held at Yuba County Jail. They are presently facing charges of possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of marijuana for sale, conspiracy, and sale of drugs near a school. “Operation Dirty Taco,” it would seem, was a success.
