OAKLAND — A 31-year-old man has been arrested on federal charges, months after he was allegedly pulled over in a car containing 25 pounds of methamphetamine, court records show.
Paul Quintana was charged June 22 with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, a federal offense that carries up to 40 years in prison, court records show. Quintana is set to go before a federal magistrate June 30 to learn whether he will be detained or released while the charges are pending.
The charges stem from a November 2020 incident in which Quintana was pulled over in Bay Point. He allegedly told the deputy he didn’t have a valid license and attempted to use a false name. Police called in a drug-sniffing dog that indicated it smelled drugs in the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
Inside the car, deputies allegedly found 25 pounds of meth, more than $6,000 in cash, and three cellphones. On one of the phones was a days-old conversation with a person listed in court records as Individual 1, in which Quintana and the person allegedly negotiated a deal for “windows,” a slang term for methamphetamine, the complaint alleges.
The complaint was originally placed under seal because a Drug Enforcement Administration wrote in court records the agency is actively investigating a “drug trafficking organization” tied to the methamphetamine seizure, court records show.
Quintana has not yet entered a plea and remains in federal custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on a no-bail hold, records show.
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Author: Nate Gartrell