Arvin man pleads guilty to fentanyl, methamphetamine trafficking

Oct. 25—An Arvin man pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl in federal court, according to a Department of Justice news release.

Omar Alberto Navarro, 40, conspired with others to acquire methamphetamine and fentanyl in Mexico, and then transport it to the Eastern District of California, where the narcotics were stored, sold and distributed between Sept. 1, 2020, and March 26, 2021, according to court documents.

In November 2020, Navarro, while in Mexico, coordinated the loading of a vehicle with approximately 132 pounds of pure methamphetamine that he had obtained from a Mexican-based supplier. On another occasion in December 2020, Navarro arranged for a vehicle to be loaded with 41 pounds of methamphetamine in the gas tank and then driven across the border. On both occasions, law enforcement stopped the vehicles and seized the methamphetamine, according to the release.

Navarro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine when he's sentenced Feb. 6.