1/19/2024
On the evening of Tuesday, January 16, members of the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement team (MADGE) intercepted a vehicle along I-5 outside of Ashland, Oregon. MADGE investigators had received information of the vehicle transporting large amounts of narcotics in our area. With the assistance of the Oregon State Police and the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team (IMET), investigators stopped the vehicle and Medford Police K9 “Bodie” alerted to the presence of narcotics. A search warrant was obtained, and a search of the vehicle yielded 105 pounds of methamphetamine and 12 pounds of fentanyl.
The MADGE team is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force that identifies, disrupts, and dismantles local, multi-state and international drug trafficking organizations using an intelligence-driven, multi-agency prosecutor-support approach. MADGE is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) which is composed of members from the Medford Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, Parole and Probation, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.
The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives, including MADGE.
Suspect arrested:
Lopez-Ramos, Cruz Bernardo, 31 years old, who is not a local resident.
Unlawful Possession and Distribution of Methamphetamine – Commercial Drug Offense
Unlawful Possession and Distribution of Fentanyl – Commercial Drug Offense
About the Author
