Two men connected to seizure of 5,000 fentanyl pills charged in federal court
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POCATELLO — Two men have been charged in federal court in connection to a July drug bust conducted at a Malad City gas station.
Jonely Emanuel Rivera-Doblado and Christopher Bishop have each been charged with possession with intent to deliver, according to documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.
RELATED | Bannock County drug task force seizes 5,000 fentanyl pills, arrest one
Following a months-long investigation by the Bannock County High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, members of the BADGES Task Force, which is made up of Pocatello and Chubbuck police officers and Bannock County Sheriff’s deputies, served two separate search warrants.
Between the two searches, officers seized more than 5,000 fentanyl pills — with a street value between $80,000 and $120,000 — along with over $3,000 cash and several hundred lottery tickets.
Rivera-Doblado, according to the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, is linked to a Honduran Cartel, which is responsible for the distribution of “at least 72,000 pills to the southeast Idaho area.”
Court records do not indicate how Bishop is linked to the search or arrest, but the two men have been charged together in federal court.
Though Rivera-Doblado and Bishop have been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean they committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If they are both found guilty, Bishop would face up to 20 years in prison with up to $1 million in fines and an additional three years of supervised probation. Rivera-Doblado would face up to 40 years in prison, $5 million in fines and four years supervised probation upon release.
Rivera-Doblado is scheduled to appear in court for jury trial on Jan. 16. Bishop is scheduled for Dec. 18 jury trial.