Federal authorities have just filed charges against three men accused of trafficking methamphetamine by the pound out of the East Bay city of Concord. But the investigation failed to score a meeting with the group's main supplier, known only as "The Man."

Two complaints from the Northern California U.S. Attorney’s office detail how DEA investigators sent an informant, outfitted with a wire, to engage in deals with Fausto Montes in which around one pound of meth was bought at a time, both in parking lots in Concord and Pleasant Hill. The informant then attempted to arrange a 10-pound deal, as the East Bay Times reports, hoping to lure "The Man" into a trap, but he declined the deal, and communicated, through Montes, that only five pounds might be available.

The staged deals happened in February and April, and this week, the feds filed charges against Montes and two other men, Edgar Flores and Aldo Alvarez. All three have been charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and could face ten-year sentences if convicted.

The East Bay Times notes that the complaint against Montes and Flores contains redactions, which could meant that there are un-charged co-conspirators who would likely "destroy evidence if they were tipped off to a pending investigation." But I think that cat's out of the bag now.