Riverside County Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking 44 Kilograms of Cocaine and 10 Kilograms of Heroin Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California Dateline: Fresno, California Date: 24 March 2025 Subjects: American Government , Crime Topic: Interstate Highway System

37 kilograms of cocaine and 10 kilograms of heroin hidden in car’s roof

37 kilograms of cocaine and 10 kilograms of heroin hidden in car’s roof

FRESNO, Calif. — Jose Miguel Perez, 42, of Corona, pleaded guilty today to cocaine and heroin trafficking, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Perez was pulled over by law enforcement officers while driving north on Interstate 5 in Fresno County. Deputies seized 56 kilograms of various narcotics in the car’s two hidden compartments. Seven kilograms of cocaine were hidden in the ceiling of the car, while an additional 37 kilograms of cocaine, 10 kilograms of heroin, and 2 kilograms of ketamine were seized from a hidden compartment in the car’s roof.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cody S. Chapple is prosecuting the case.

Jose Miguel Perez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff on June 23, 2025. Perez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Updated March 24, 2025