A previously deported man is facing federal drug trafficking and immigration charges after authorities seized more than 275 pounds of methamphetamine shipped from Mexico to the Gainesville area.
According to information presented in federal court, investigators identified a suspicious shipment of five boxes en route to Gainesville. Inside the boxes were plastic bags filled with a black industrial powder that later tested positive for methamphetamine. The total weight of the drug‑laden powder was 277 pounds.
In an undercover operation, agents delivered the boxes to a Gainesville residence. Shortly afterward, Pedro Guadarrama Loza allegedly came outside, took possession of the boxes and carried them inside. Agents executed a federal search warrant, seized the shipment and arrested Loza as he attempted to flee through a back door.
Court records show Loza was convicted of trafficking controlled substances in DeKalb County in 2014 and was removed to Mexico in 2017 after completing his prison sentence. He allegedly re‑entered the United States without legal authorization sometime afterward.
Loza, 38, of Michoacán, Mexico, appeared in federal court on charges of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and illegal reentry by a previously removed alien.