Fresno 73-year-old busted with more than 50 pounds of meth, other drugs and weapons

A 73-year-old man is in jail awaiting local and federal charges after being arrested by special task force officers at a northeast Fresno home, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.

Wesley Tsukamoto was arrested April 2, then rearrested on federal charges April 21. The sheriff’s office divulged details of the case Tuesday.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Special Investigation Task Force discovered more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.1 pounds (half a kilogram) of cocaine, 1.1 pounds of heroin, one ounce of fentanyl, prescription pills and processed marijuana when serving a search warrant at a home located in the San Joaquin Village mobile home park on East Alluvial Avenue.

Officers also found two handguns, nearly 100 rounds of ammunition and three magazines at the residence.

Tsukamoto, a felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition, was booked into the Fresno County Jail on felony charges including possession of a controlled substance for sales and possession of a firearm by a felon/narcotic drug user. He was released later in the day after posting bond.

The arrest is part of a larger on-going federal investigation involving a partnership between the sheriff’s task force and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Tsukamoto following his rearrest is now in the Fresno County Jail on a federal hold awaiting further court proceedings.

Tsukamoto in November 2019 was charged with two felony counts of criminal threats, dissuading witnesses from reporting, possession of firearm by a felon and carrying a loaded firearm in public. Also, a misdemeanor for brandishing a firearm.

He has a pre-preliminary hearing on those charges May 3.