Task force dismantles meth, coke ring

Narcotics detectives are calling it Operation Big Rig, a month-long investigation targeting suspects dealing cocaine and methamphetamine using truck washes along Interstate 10 between Eloy and Toltec. Fifteen people were arrested.

The case began after detectives with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force received a tip dealers were selling substantial amounts of both drugs to truck drivers and other buyers.

Using an undercover big rig drivers, detectives posed as buyers at several stops including Flash Truck Polishing in Toltec and Show Time Truck Polishing in Eloy.

After building the case and identifying suspects in the drug ring in June, detectives with the task force and Eloy Police Department served four search warrants: one at Flash Truck Polishing, the others at three residential homes in Eloy and Toltec.

Nine people were arrested at the truck wash, including the owners, Hector Soto-Quintero and Rafael Rios. Four of those arrested, as well as Soto-Quintero, are in the U.S. illegally from Mexico.

A total of 24.8 trams of methamphetamine and 9.8 grams of cocaine were seized during the investigation, along with eight vehicles, one rifle and $26,000 cash.