For the second time in a span of a little more than four months, two Northwest Montana residents have been arrested and charged with dealing methamphetamine and heroin.

According to Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino, agents with the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, with the assistance of the Kalispell Police Department, arrested the leaders of a local drug trafficking organization operating in the Flathead Valley Saturday.

Kevin Kenneth Gaethle and Nicole Lee Chappel were both taken into custody and served with arrest warrants for federal drug charges.

Over the past week deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and agents with the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force have served multiple search warrants on vehicles and residences associated with Gaethle and Chappel.

Several ounces of methamphetamine along with quantities of heroin and more than $20,000 in cash were seized during these searches.

Both were also arrested Aug. 13 by Kalispell police officers for possession of dangerous drugs with the intent to distribute.

Those arrests came after the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force received information over the previous eight months that the two were operating a drug trafficking organization in and throughout Northwest Montana.

Between January and March 2019, the Kalispell Police Department contacted Gaethle and Chappel several times. During these contacts several search warrants were executed, resulting in approximately one-half ounce of heroin, more than a quarter pound of methamphetamine and more than $42,000 cash being seized.

Over the next several months, the Drug Task Force continued to receive information that Gaethle and Chappel were continuing their efforts of drug distribution in Northwest Montana. Aug. 13-14, the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force observed the couple engage in several drug-related activities and requested assistance from the Kalispell Police Department to stop the vehicle they were driving.

Gaethle and Chappel were taken into custody and transported to the Kalispell Police Department for further investigation. Methamphetamine and heroin were located on Gaethle and Chappel.

Search warrants were executed on two vehicles, which resulted in additional quantities of methamphetamine and heroin being seized.

Gaethle has a lengthy criminal history that includes several felony charges in Flathead County beginning in 2005.

He has faced numerous drug charges and was convicted for his role in a 2011 home invasion robbery in which a 16-year-old girl was held at gunpoint. He was sentenced to four years, three months in federal prison for that offense.

Chappel’s criminal past dates back at least a decade. She was arrested in 2009 for her role in an armed robbery at a Whitefish hotel.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com