United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Rafael Perea Arce aka Rafael Parea Arce, age 27, of Mexico, was sentenced on September 19, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual meth. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Perea Arce to a total of 55 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Perea Arce's release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.

On November 30, 2023, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper pulled over a vehicle for a suspended vehicle registration on Interstate 80 in Hall County, Nebraska. The driver was identified by his Mexico driver's license as Rafael Perea Arce. During the stop, Perea Arce admitted that he had drugs in the vehicle that he was transporting them from Arizona to Minnesota. The trooper searched the vehicle and found a large duffle bag that contained 45 individual packages containing a white crystalline substance.

The white crystalline substance was sent to the State Patrol Crime Lab and they confirmed that each package contained meth. The total weight of the meth was just under 20 kilograms. The Crime Lab tested one of the packages for purity. The meth in that package weighed 449 grams. It was 95.6 % pure and contained at least 410 grams of meth actual.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.