Federal agents find 67 kilos of meth, 9 firearms in Kansas City bust
Two people face criminal charges after federal agents seized a high quantity of methamphetamine and several firearms on Wednesday in Kansas City’s West Blue Valley neighborhood, according to court records.
Rafael Valenzia-Galaviz, 41, and Nora Linda Ochoa-Chavez, 41, were arrested Wednesday in the 1500 block of White Avenue as part of a federal narcotics investigation. Both are accused of crimes related to drug trafficking in court documents filed in the U.S. Western District of Missouri.
According to an affidavit filed by an agent with the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, agents were given consent to search a home by resident Ochoa-Chavez. Inside they found roommate Valenzia-Galaviz, sought by investigators, sleeping with a Smith & Wesson under his mattress. He also consented to a search by federal authorities, the affidavit says, which turned up a little less than 1 kilogram of marijuana in his bedroom.
Valenzia-Galaviz allegedly admitted to federal agents that there was methamphetamine in a van parked in the back of the home along with “some rifles,” according to court records. The van, which belonged to Ochoa-Chavez, was also searched, where nearly 67 kilograms of methamphetamine was discovered in gallon-sized zipper bags.
Six firearms were found in the Dodge Caravan. Three were M-4 style rifles, one of which contained a 60-round drum magazine, along with handguns including one TEC9. Two other rifles were found during another search of the home.
During an interview with agents, Valencia-Galaviz allegedly said he was aware that he was not able to own firearms because he was living in the U.S. illegally, saying he kept them to prevent being robbed during drug distributions.
Valencia-Galaviz also told federal agents he worked for a man who is already under federal indictment for drug distribution in Kansas. He said he routinely picked up and dropped off large amounts of methamphetamine, saying he picked up an 80 kilo load less than a month ago.
Ochoa-Chavez initially denied knowing about the drug trafficking but later told agents she had given rides to Valencia-Galaviz in support of what she suspected were drug transactions, the affidavit says.
