The Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task Force, a multi-agency gang task force headed by the FBI, executed a search warrant in Nampa, Idaho, on April 4, 2023, in conjunction with an ongoing investigation. During the search, the Task Force seized approximately 13.5 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately 19,900 fentanyl pills, and three firearms. Rigoverto Rivera Hernandez, a known Sureno gang member, was arrested on scene, and the case will be submitted to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho for prosecution consideration. Hernandez is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
Rigoverto Rivera Hernandez
Commenting on the results of the search, Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue stated, “According to the DEA’s latest analysis, 42% of illicit fentanyl pills contain a potentially lethal dose. The Metro Task Force’s relentless pursuit of these dangerous criminal organizations and the seizure of these drugs from this one operation alone potentially saved over 8,000 lives from fentanyl overdose in the Treasure Valley. These statistics show the importance of multi-jurisdictional task forces in our efforts to combat the gangs and Mexican Cartels who are destroying our communities. This is the monster we’re fighting – this is the enemy.”
The Metro Task Force was formed in 2005 amidst a consistent upsurge of gang violence in the Treasure Valley. Metro is funded and supervised by the FBI, with personnel assigned to the Task Force from city, county, state, and other federal law enforcement agencies. Metro’s mission is to conduct long-term, complex investigations of gangs and other criminal enterprises. The majority of Metro’s cases are adjudicated in federal court. The members of the Metro Task Force work closely with the United States Attorney’s Office Treasure Valley Gang Special Assistant United States Attorney (“SAUSA”). The Gang SAUSA program has been in existence since 2007 and emphasizes the federal prosecution of violent and dangerous offenders throughout the Treasure Valley. Typically, such individuals are documented gang members or associates of gang members. The two primary types of cases prosecuted by the Gang SAUSA are firearms cases and drug trafficking cases.
To date, Metro has submitted cases federally resulting in the indictment of over 530 individuals. More than 100 additional individuals have been indicted in State court on various criminal charges. Metro has seized countless amounts of drugs over the past seventeen years and has seized over 600 firearms possessed illegally by gang members and other criminals. In the past month alone, Metro has seized 15 firearms, over 15.5 pounds of methamphetamine, and over 20,000 fentanyl pills.
“The Caldwell Police Department is proud to continue its partnership with the Metro Task Force, and it clearly continues to prove its worth,” added Chief Rex Ingram of the Caldwell Police Department. “I don’t know why gang members, drug cartels, and other organized criminal enterprises believe that the great state of Idaho is a safe haven for them to terrorize, capitalize, or otherwise operate in. I am so proud of the work that our men and women do to keep our communities safe.”
The Idaho Department of Correction is a longtime member of the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task Force. “People should be proud of the way law enforcement agencies at all levels of government work together here in Idaho to help make our state safer for all of its citizens,” said IDOC Director Josh Tewalt.
Metro is committed to its mission of removing gang members and violent offenders from the communities throughout the Treasure Valley that are negatively impacted by the crimes carried out by these individuals and organizations. This latest large drug seizure is just one example of the work being done to protect our communities, and it will have a positive impact by preventing these drugs from being distributed throughout the Treasure Valley.
“Our Treasure Valley community is safer today,” added Acting Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the Salt Lake City FBI. “There is no doubt lives across the state were saved from these dangerous drugs and firearms. The Metro Task Force is a testament to what we can accomplish when law enforcement maximizes resources and works together.”