Meth Bust in South Santa Barbara County

A bust by Sheriff's narcotics detectives on November 2 netted more than two ounces of methamphetamine and $100,000 in cash.

Two drug busts in south Santa Barbara County netted more than two ounces of methamphetamine and $100,000 in cash. Jacinto Vasquez, 38, and Mercedes Martinez, 25, were stopped while driving in Goleta and on southbound Highway 101, respectively, on Thursday, and searches of their persons and homes turned up positive, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Detectives from the Special Investigation Bureau of the Sheriff’s Office and a K-9 unit stopped Vasquez, 37, as he drove away from his home on Alondra Drive. The Sheriff’s Office states they found more than $8,000 in cash on him, $7,000 more when they searched his home, and several baggies amounting to an ounce of meth.

Martinez lived on Calle Ecuestre, not far to the east of El Capitan State Beach. When stopped by Sheriff’s narcotics detectives and a California Highway Patrol K-9 unit, she allegedly had several baggies of meth, amounting to over an ounce. At her home, $85,000 was found hidden, according to officials.

The two were booked into County Jail on conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine for sale, with bail set at $1 million apiece.