DEA arrests two South Lake Tahoe residents on drug charges

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Federal agents were in South Lake Tahoe on Tuesday to arrest two local men after a three-year-long investigation into their illegal drug activities.

On December 18, 2018, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) with assistance from the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force (TRIDENT), South Lake Tahoe Police Department and El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office served a federal search warrant at a home on the 2300 block of Tahoe Vista Drive.

South Lake Tahoe residents Benjamin Gilbert, 35, and Amerika Mobley, 32, were arrested on federal charges stemming from a LSD investigation that began in 2015. During the course of the investigation approximately 131.79 gross grams of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide), 151.97 gross grams MDMA (Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy) and 60 gross grams of cocaine were purchased. Cocaine and a large amount of LSD were seized as a result of the search warrant served at the residence on Tuesday.

Mobley and Gilbert were charged with distribution and conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute at least 10 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of LSD and a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of MDMA. These are all felony charges.

Special Agent Casey Rettig told South Tahoe Now that both men are still in custody in a Sacramento jail and have a detention hearing in federal court on Friday, December 21.