Federal court documents connected to the recent arrests of four Emporians, a Texas resident and two Mexicans illegally living in Emporia on significant drug distribution charges indicate the inquiry developed months ago as part of work by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in the Kansas City metro area.
Following conversations between the KBI and a confidential informant in late January, the agency and informant worked together to buy nearly 10 pounds or over 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine as part of five different transactions by mid-March and then collaborated to buy 33 pounds, or 15 kilos, at a Kansas City, Kansas, grocery store in late March. Related information from a suspect arrested at the scene indicated meth traffic between Kansas City and Emporia, and other information from a search warrant included messages and location data, including a home in Emporia’s 800 block of West Fifth and a ranch owned by defendant Troy Wagaman in the 1200 block of Road D, about eight miles southwest of Emporia.
Late last month, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent discussed Customs and Border Protection reports about border crossings between the United States and Mexico — specifically a charter bus with a Texas tag that had crossed the border on three different occasions in March and April, either with few or no passengers riding. The April crossing included an inspection at Eagle Pass, Texas, and license plate reader data indicated the bus had come to Emporia for all three trips before heading to Mexico. A secondary investigation led to the discovery of tampered bolts near the fuel tank, which can indicate hidden compartments for illegal activity. That search did not find meth, although there was a crystal substance near the gas cap. The bus was fitted with a tracking device and allowed on its way…