Missoula woman suspected of trafficking methamphetamine

A Missoula woman had an initial appearance on Dec. 1 on a criminal complaint accusing her of trafficking methamphetamine after law enforcement officers seized 17 pounds of the drug, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.

A criminal complaint filed and unsealed on Dec. 1 alleges that Jasmine Lori Snyder, 39, possessed meth with intent to distribute. The maximum penalty for the crime is a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Snyder was detained pending further proceedings.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The government alleged in court documents that on Nov. 12, law enforcement received information about drug activity in Missoula. An investigation led to the interception and seizure of two packages that were sent through the mail from California and addressed to a Missoula residence where Snyder had packages delivered. Law enforcement served search warrants on the two packages and determined that they contained a total of approximately 17 pounds of meth. Seventeen pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 61,608 doses. Officers arrested Snyder on Nov. 30 near her residence.

The FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force, the U.S. Postal Service and the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.