The daughter-in-law of the owner of Victor’s Tire Shop in Portales expressed “shock” about Tuesday’s drug raid at the business but told the Portales News-Tribune that the tire shop and the attached La Paz remain open for business.
The owner, Victor Olguin, and two other men were arrested during the raid but are the only ones accused of being involved with drugs, daughter-in-law Mallory Holguin told the News-Tribune
“This came as a shock to the entire family,” Holguin told the paper. “We had no idea whatsoever that anything was going on.”
Holguin said business slowed down after the raid, and on Wednesday only about half the regular customers showed up, the News-Tribune said.
7:17am 1/25/12 — 3 Arrested in Raid on Portales Tire Shop
The owner of Victor’s Tire Shop in Portales and two other men were arrested Tuesday afternoon and $51,000 worth of cocaine was seized when agents of the Region 5 Drug Task Force conducted a raid on the shop, according to the Portales News-Tribune and a law enforcement news release.
Victor Olguin, 61, of Portales, was arrested for allegedly arranging to have cocaine delivered to his shop on Tuesday with the intention of distributing it out of his business, the News-Tribune said.
Also arrested were Jose Pena, 54, for allegedly bringing the cocaine to the tire shop, and Jose Ornelas, 75, for possessing about 4.2 grams of cocaine that was not part of the shipment, the paper reported.
Olguin and Pena are being held on $100,000 cash bonds each, facing charges of trafficking a controlled substance and conspiracy, and Ornelas is being held on a $51,000 bond, according to the news release.
The Region 5 Drug Task Force, consisting of officers from Clovis and Portales police, the Curry and Roosevelt county sheriff’s offices and New Mexico State Police, had conducted a two-month investigation into narcotics trafficking in the two eastern New Mexico counties, according to the release.
Agents had obtained multiple recordings of Olguin allegedly brokering deals to traffic several pounds of cocaine in eastern New Mexico, and they learned of a vehicle that was driven by Pena, who allegedly hand-delivered more than a pound of cocaine to an undercover task force associate while being observed by task force agents, the release said.
Several people were detained at the scene on Tuesday while agents conducted their investigation, and Ornelas was initially arrested at the scene for concealing his identity, then was later found to have cocaine in his possession, agents said.
