Three Indicted For Drug Trafficking At End Of Long-term Narcotics Investigation (Photo) - 10/30/25
Date: Oct. 30, 2025
Incident: Three indicted for drug trafficking at end of long-term narcotics investigation
Federal indictments have been returned against three men – Andres Garcia-Mendoza, Julio Duran Vargas, and Brett Mitchell Miller – at the conclusion of a year-long narcotics investigation handled by the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with assistance from various narcotics units in the tri-county area.
Garcia-Mendoza, Duran Vargas, and Miller were federally indicted on Oct. 16, 2025, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. These are all felony-level charges.
The case, which originated in summer 2024 and concluded in spring 2025, involved the seizure of more than 71 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 5 pounds of cocaine, and more than 2 pounds of fentanyl across two states, along with the seizure of 16 firearms. All the weapons and most of the drugs were seized in the Central Oregon Region.
Specific dates, times, and locations of the seizures will not be released. Garcia-Mendoza, who is believed to reside in Mexico, was previously convicted of federal narcotics offenses in 2013, and is alleged to be the director of the current drug distribution scheme.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) team is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program and the following Central Oregon law enforcement agencies: Bend Police Department, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Police Department, Prineville Police Department, Crook County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Madras Police Department, Oregon State Police, Sunriver Police Department, Black Butte Police Department, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Warm Springs Tribal Police Department, Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson County District Attorney’s, and the Oregon National Guard.
The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement task forces to disrupt or dismantle local, multi-state and international drug trafficking organizations.
