A 58-year-old Utah restaurant owner is facing federal drug trafficking charges after investigators say they uncovered thousands of grams of cocaine and heroin at his business, along with more than $180,000 in cash packaged with coffee grounds at his residence. Jose Gilardo Soto-Moya was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute, as well as illegal reentry into the United States as a previously removed noncitizen.
The case stems from an investigation led by the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force and the Utah Department of Homeland Security Investigations, both of which opened a criminal probe into Soto-Moya and other alleged co-conspirators, according to ABC4 Utah. Investigators believed the operation was distributing large quantities of heroin and other narcotics throughout Utah, per the same report.
Agents reportedly conducted a controlled purchase of heroin from Soto-Moya at his restaurant in South Salt Lake City in August, according to the outlet's reporting. That transaction led agents to obtain search warrants for both the restaurant and Soto-Moya's residence, which they later executed.
Cash and Narcotics Hidden in Coffee Grounds
Detectives located roughly 4,047 grams of cocaine and approximately 1,027 grams of heroin at the restaurant, both of which field-tested positive for the substances, the station's report states. Agents also reportedly found $180,630 in cash packaged with coffee grounds at Soto-Moya's residence, while coffee grounds covered some of the drugs at the restaurant.
Charges against Soto-Moya remain allegations only, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. His jury trial is scheduled to begin November 23 at the Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City and is expected to last three days, the outlet reports.
A Prior Case and a 2015 Removal
Court records reviewed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah show this is not Soto-Moya's first brush with the federal system. He was sentenced to 18 months of confinement followed by 12 months of supervised release in 2011, and was later released directly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a detainer pending deportation on March 4, 2013. The court filing also addressed his supervised release.
According to the seed facts in this case, Soto-Moya was removed from the United States in 2015. A 2011 U.S. Department of Justice record had identified him as then 44 years old and living in Riverton at the time he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in that earlier case.
The gap between that removal and his current restaurant ownership, along with the specifics of his return to the country, are not detailed in the available record. What is documented is a renewed federal case now working its way toward trial this fall, built on allegations of narcotics concealed under coffee grounds at the restaurant and cash packaged with coffee grounds at the residence.
