Two of the five men arrested Friday on charges relating to the seizure of more than 2 pounds of cocaine near New Market remained in the Frederick County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday.
Deputies with the Frederick County Sheriff's Office have determined that the two men are both Mexican citizens and are in the United States illegally.
They will face deportation proceedings after the criminal charges related to the drug bust are settled, said Cpl. Jennifer Bailey, spokeswoman for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies have determined that the other three men arrested during the seizure are not illegal immigrants. Each has posted bonds related to their charges, and have been released.
The seizure occurred after a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in New Market on Friday.
Bailey said the Frederick County Narcotics Task Force was working with the Frederick Police Department's Drug Enforcement Unit, and received a tip about several men distributing a large amount of cocaine.
Officers set up surveillance near the intersection of routes 144 and 75, and saw two suspicious vehicles in the McDonald's parking lot there. The vehicles, a red pickup truck and red Yukon, left the parking lot, and headed west on Interstate 70, Bailey said.
According to Bailey, Detective First Class Jeffrey Null saw the driver of the pickup truck follow another vehicle too closely, make an unsafe lane change and ignore a traffic control device, so he stopped the truck.
Null learned that the driver, Rosendo A. Montoya-Paz, was driving on a suspended license, so he arrested him, Bailey said.
Deputies searched the vehicle with the help of a K9 unit, and found 512.9 grams (1.13 pounds) of cocaine in the center console and another 515.2 grams (1.13 pounds) under the right rear passenger seat.
Deputies seized the cocaine and arrested the passengers, Jose F. Paz and Arturo Enriquez-Gonzales.
Meanwhile, Detective First Class Jeff Eyler stopped the second vehicle, the red Yukon, on I-70 at Bowman's Farm Road for following another vehicle too closely.
Bailey said that due to the deputies' and officers' observations during the operation, and the fact that the pickup truck and Yukon were traveling together, the driver, Masiel Burgoa-Serrano, and passenger, Sergio A. Duranarechiga, were arrested.
The charges are as follows:
Rosendo A. Montoya-Paz, 34, of Manassas, Va.: driving on a suspended license; possession of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of cocaine large amount; and conspiracy to distribute cocaine;
Arturo Enriquez-Gonzales, 26, of Glen Burnie: possession of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of cocaine large amount; and conspiracy to distribute cocaine;
Jose F. Paz, 22, of Nokesville, Va.: possession of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of cocaine large amount; and conspiracy to distribute cocaine;
Masiel Burgoa-Serrano, 30, also of Manassas: conspiracy to distribute cocaine;
Sergio A. Duranarechiga, 29, of Manassas: conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Duranarechiga and Enriquez-Gonzales are Mexican citizens and in the United States illegally.
They will go through deportation proceedings after the criminal charges are settled, according to Bailey.
According to an official at the detention center, Duranarechiga is being held in lieu of a $400,000 bond.
Enriquez-Gonzales paid a $400,000 bond for his criminal charges, but was still in custody as an illegal immigrant, Bailey said.
The three other men arrested had all been released on bond as of Wednesday morning.
Paz was released on a $400,000 bond. Rosendo A. Montoya-Paz was released on a $250,000 bond. Masiel Burgoa-Serrano was released on a $25,000 bond.
Bailey would not give a specific street value for the drugs because it is against the Sheriff's Office's policy, but she called the arrest "significant," saying it was one of the largest drug seizures the Sheriff's Office had made this year.