Man pleads guilty in state’s largest meth bust

The man accused of being the leader of a drug-trafficking ring, whose arrest last year led to the largest methamphetamine bust in Nevada history, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts.

Oscar Cavadas, 27, said he was guilty of trafficking a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a firearm and conspiracy. As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend a nine-year-to-life prison term to Judge Jerry Tao, who will sentence Cavadas at a Feb. 12 hearing.

Cavadas, also known as Moreliano Zaragoza-Ramos, originally faced more than 20 felony counts.

Cavadas and 13 others were charged in July 2011 after a yearlong investigation by the Southern Nevada Drug Task Force netted 208 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $5.7 million. Authorities also seized 4 pounds of heroin, $280,000 in cash, a shotgun, five handguns - including one with a silencer - and nine vehicles in the July 12 bust.

A task force of local and federal investigators confiscated the drugs in a coordinated raid of five local homes that were part of a Mexican drug operation.

Authorities think the drugs were transported from Mexico, where they were made, by vehicles with several smuggling compartments.

At least six of the defendants were in the country illegally. Two of the 14 people charged in connection with the drug ring are still at large, authorities said. Eleven others have pleaded guilty to drug-related felonies.

In a statement, District Attorney Steve Wolfson said, "This was the largest methamphetamine bust ever in Southern Nevada, and now Mr. Cavadas will get an equally serious prison term."

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.