Man accused of hauling 270 pounds of meth from California to Oregon

A 29-year-old man is accused of hauling 270 pounds of methamphetamine from southern California into Oregon Saturday in a rented pickup truck, according to prosecutors.

FBI agents, working with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, obtained warrants to track the geolocation data of two phones they suspected Anthony Barrera was using to transport large loads of methamphetamine, according to a federal affidavit.

Last Wednesday, the investigators suspected Barrera was traveling to southern California to pick up the drugs. The next day, they obtained a subpoena for information on the Hertz vehicle he rented in his name, the affidavit said.

The investigators learned Barrera had rented a blue 2025 Chevy Equinox last Tuesday, May 20, for one week. The pickup truck’s license later was captured in California by a license plate reader, according to the affidavit.

When investigators tracked Barrera traveling north toward Oregon on Saturday, FBI agents, along with deputies from the sheriff’s office’s Special Investigations Unit, obtained a warrant to search the rented Chevy Equinox and drove to southern Oregon to try to intercept it.

About 7 p.m. on Saturday, a detective saw the pickup heading north on Interstate 5 and investigators began to follow it.

When Barrera pulled off and stopped at a rest area north of Roseburg, he stepped out of the Chevy Equinox to smoke a cigarette. That’s when officers moved in and took him into custody, according to the affidavit. He told the FBI he had drugs in the truck’s back seat and cargo area, concealed in bags, according to the affidavit.

He said he sold drugs to support himself and 20 pounds of the methamphetamine belonged to him, while the remainder was someone else’s but he did not identify the other person, the affidavit said. He estimated he’s made the trip to southern California to restock his drug supply at least three times this year, according to the affidavit.

A search of the back of the pickup turned up a brick of suspected cocaine and numerous packages of methamphetamine wrapped in aluminum foil and cellophane, according to prosecutors.

When Anthony Barrera stopped at a rest area north of Roseburg off Interstate 5 and stepped out of the rented Chevy Equinox to smoke a cigarette, officers moved in and took him into custody. He admitted he had drugs in the backseat and cargo area, concealed in bags, according to a federal affidavit.

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Federal agents and sheriff’s deputies then searched Barrera’s home in Estacada and confiscated two guns found in an underground hole obscured by floor boards, the affidavit said.

Barrera made his first appearance in federal court in Portland Tuesday afternoon, accused of possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Ryan Costello was appointed to defend Barrera, who was ordered detained until his arraignment on a suspected indictment on June 26.

Saturday’s seizure of methamphetamine exceeded a 2024 bust of 207 pounds of methamphetamine found in the trunk of a Chevy Malibu traveling on Interstate 5 in Wilsonville, which was then described by a federal prosecutor as

“astronomical,”

and one of the biggest seizures of the drug in Oregon.

Such stops and seizures of methamphetamine show the continuing reach of Mexican cartels along the West Coast, federal prosecutors said. Methamphetamine is the second leading cause of overdoses in the state, according to Oregon Health Authority data.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X

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