21 Pounds of Meth from California Found in Car of Elderly Couple

An elderly couple from Mexico has been sentenced to Federal jail time for trafficking and selling drugs.

The man is 81-year-old Efren Avilez-Lopez and the woman is 70-year-old Maria Medina-Zeveda. Both are Mexican nationals who had been illegally living in Ontario, Oregon.

DRUG BUST: Senior Couple Caught with Drugs From California

The couple was caught in May of 2023 driving to Ontario after stopping in Los Angeles to pick up a large load of meth. Police in Owyhee County, Idaho stopped the couple who had 4 family members in the car with them, including a minor child. A drug-detecting dog was used to alert cops of the presence of drugs and an inspection of the vehicle found 21 pounds of meth in the floorboards.

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The incident was not the first interaction the couple had with police in Idaho. They sold drugs to an undercover officer in Nampa, ID on 2 separate occasions. Court records state:

"on April 15, 2023, Avilez-Lopez and Medina-Zeveda sold an undercover officer five pounds of methamphetamine in a Nampa store parking lot. On April 25, 2023, they both sold an undercover officer 20 pounds of methamphetamine in a Nampa store parking lot."

2 Elderly Mexican Nationals Sentenced for Drug Trafficking in Idaho

Efren and Maria have since been sentenced to serve time in federal prison, after which both will be deported. Efren will serve 9 years for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and Maria will serve 37 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. They were both ordered to also serve 3 years of supervised release.