Major Drug Pipeline Flows Through Spokane Second Man Arrested At Bus Station While Transporting Pot To Boston

Police are hoping to find the source of a major drug pipeline that is using Spokane as a way station for deliveries around the country.

The investigation follows two big busts at Spokane’s train and bus station, both involving men carrying pot in suitcases and heading for the East Coast.

On Tuesday at the downtown Intermodal Transit Center, agents of Spokane’s Regional Drug Task Force arrested a man with two suitcases filled with marijuana in cellophane-wrapped bricks.

Carrying 55 pounds of Mexican marijuana, the man had boarded a Greyhound bus in Yakima and was headed to Boston.

Authorities said he identified himself as Angel Bautista, 27.

Ten days earlier, Spokane police arrested another man at the Spokane bus and train station.

Juan Gomez-Suarez, 23, was holding baggage checks for two suitcases containing 80 pounds of pot. He, too, was bound for Boston. Police called it the city’s biggest marijuana bust.

The arrests suggest a major drug pipeline is using Spokane as a hub, said Lt. Chan Bailey of the drug task force.

“We knew that Spokane was a stopping point for drug traffic heading various directions,” he said. “But these two arrests are dramatic demonstrations of how much traffic is coming through town.”

Bailey said police in the region are redoubling their efforts to find the source of the drug and the key distributors. The street value of the marijuana, likely cultivated in Mexico, is estimated at more than $80,000.

Bautista, appearing in Spokane County District Court on Wednesday, did not give his current address. He told jail guards he had lived in Yakima three years ago.

He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and is to be charged today with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Deputy Prosecutor Sarah Beemer said she doubts Bautista gave his real name. “The Border Patrol agents who first stopped him didn’t believe his green card was real,” Beemer said.

Border Patrol agents routinely make checks of bus travelers to ensure they are in this country legally.

Agents prepared to fly to Boston on Wednesday, posing as Bautista arriving with his suitcases filled with marijuana.

“We had hoped that would let us find out who the pickup person is,” Beemer said.

But the task force scrapped the plan after learning Bautista had made several phone calls from jail.

Gomez-Suarez, who told authorities he is an illegal alien, was charged with possession and intent to deliver last week.

“It’s hard, though, to get too far just through the delivery people,” Beemer said.

Couriers seldom know the top members in the drug organization. “They usually know the No. 12 guy who gave them the pot and $1,000. Plus, they don’t speak English, making it harder to get information,” she said.

Bailey said it’s difficult to predict how much drug traffic is going through Spokane.

“You can assume a lot more than we’ve just seen is going through town on different forms of public transportation,” he said.

Agents were surprised the destination was Boston in both recent cases.

“Usually, we’ve seen the material going to Montana or staying in Spokane or maybe heading toward the Dakotas,” Bailey said. “It’s obviously going even farther.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: TRYING TO CRACK THE CASE Agents had planned to fly to Boston, posing as Angel Bautista arriving with his suitcases filled with marijuana.