Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PORTLAND, Ore.— An Estacada, Oregon, man is facing federal charges today after he was caught transporting 270 pounds of methamphetamine from Southern California to Oregon.
Anthony Barrera, 29, has been charged by criminal complaint with possessing methamphetamine and cocaine with the intent to distribute.
According to court documents, during an investigation of an alleged drug trafficker, later identified as Barrera, investigators learned Barrera rented a vehicle and traveled to California to pick up large quantities of drugs to distribute and sell in Oregon.
On May 24, 2025, officers located Barrera driving the rental vehicle northbound on Interstate 5 and followed him to a rest area near Roseburg, Oregon, where Barrera was arrested without incident. Agents executed a federal search warrant on the rental vehicle and seized 270 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of cocaine, which were concealed in the backseat and cargo area of the vehicle. Later the same day, investigators executed a federal search warrant on Barrera’s residence where they seized two firearms hidden under the floor of a closet.
Barrera made his first appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Multnomah County Dangerous Drug Team (DDT). It is being prosecuted by Charlotte Kelley, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
The Multnomah County DDT is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and is composed of members from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Multnomah County Parole and Probation, Gresham Police Department, the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).
The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.