REDMOND, OR -- Two people from Redmond were arrested during a drug bust last week. At about 8 a.m. on Thursday, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Detectives executed a search warrant in the 700 block of NW 5th Street in Redmond. A multi-county surveillance operation was conducted. They say 34-year-old Joseph Pedro and 26-year-old Kerstin Arias were observed in the Portland area, believed to be purchasing controlled substances for distribution in Central Oregon.
Pedro and Arias were detained without incident, upon their arrival home. Pedro was found with a commercial quantity of Fentanyl. Arias had a felony amount of Methamphetamine.
The greater Portland area is a major transshipment hub where illegal drugs from the southwest border are stored in local warehouses, storage units, and residential properties. The bulk shipments of drugs are usually broken down into smaller quantities and transported to other states or distributed to local dealers. In addition, the Portland area has an international airport, interstate highways, and bus and train lines, making it easy for shipments to be smuggled to other destinations around the Pacific Northwest.
Both Arias and Pedro were taken to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Jail, where he is charged with Unlawful Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (commercial quantity of fentanyl) and Attempted Unlawful Delivery of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (fentanyl.) She is accused of Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine-Felony.
