By Lori EhdeRock County deputies found themselves assisting state BCA officers with an arrest Friday that resulted in the seizure of $13,000 worth of powder and crystal methamphetamine.Erick Mangual Flores, 24, Bigelow, was arrested on South Highway 75 at I-90 after he delivered 2 1/2 pounds of meth to an undercover BCA officer.The transaction occurred from his car, a 1990 gray Grand Prix at almost 11 a.m.Suspected accomplice Rivera Soto Salvador, 22, Worthington, was arrested a short time later in the Sears parking lot on East Main Street. He was driving a late-model Nissan Altima.The drugs and cars were seized, and both men were taken without incident to the Prairie Justice Center, Worthington.Salvador, an illegal alien, is now in custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and will return to Mexico.Flores has been turned over to federal officials in Minneapolis where he will appear on federal charges.A search of his Bigelow residence turned up more evidence, and three additional suspects were arrested in Nobles County.Arrests involving such large amounts of drugs become federal cases, according to Rock County Investigator Jeff Wieneke."He was a major dealer," Wieneke said. "When you’re talking pounds, that’s a big deal, considering we’re used to dealing in terms of quarter ounces."Undercover BCA officers had been negotiating for some time with Flores for a purchase in Nobles County.But when last-minute arrangements were made for the purchase to occur in Luverne, Rock County deputies became involved, along with the State Patrol, several Nobles County deputies and about 10 BCA officers.Flores lived in Luverne for a short time a couple years ago, but Wieneke said he’s so far been unable to prove that Flores and Salvador had supplied drugs for dealers in Rock County."That’s what we’re investigating," Wieneke said. "We don’t have evidence that they’re connected to any of our cases over here."
