25 arrested in alleged meth ring

Sweetwater sting includes valley woman

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Twenty-five people have been arrested after a six-month-long multi-agency investigation into a Sweetwater County-area drug trafficking and distribution ring, according a press release issued by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. Of the 25 arrested, one woman — Treina Lynn Montoya, 35, of Fort Bridger — was from Uinta County. 

By and large, the others arrested were from Rock Springs or Green River, although three Utah women, from Salt Lake City, Manti and Midvale, were also arrested after officers executed three search warrants Thursday. The press release indicates at least one of the arrests was made in Evanston, though no Evanston residents were arrested as part of the sting.

“According to court documents,” the press release states, “in December of 2016, detectives with the Sheriff’s Narcotics and Arrest Group (SNAAG) and special agents from Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s Southwest Enforcement Team (DCI SWET) developed information regarding the illegal transportation, distribution and use of methamphetamine throughout southwest Wyoming by a loosely-organized, Green River-based drug trafficking organization.”

According to the release, Thursdays arrests began early in the morning and lasted throughout the day and into the early evening. 

Law enforcement involved in the investigation and arrests included SNAAG detectives, DCI SWET agents, deputies and detectives from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, detectives from Rock Springs Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit, officers and detectives from Green River Police Department (GRPD), members of GRPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics team and detectives from Evanston Police Department.

Sweetwater County Sheriff Mike Lowell said he credits a cooperative effort by all involved agencies with the investigation, according to the press release, and he thanks the community for its continued support. He also emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, and all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.