PHOENIX, Ariz — DEA Special Agent in Charge Apolonio Ruiz Jr. joined Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and HIDTA Director Dawn Mertz to announce the results of a major multi-agency drug operation targeting criminal organizations operating in Arizona communities. “This extraordinary investigation saved countless lives,”...

Note: View the Criminal Complaint View the Indictment View the Criminal Complaint ALBUQUERQUE – Two Colorado women and an associate are charged in a drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy that allegedly funneled methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico through New Mexico into other locations in the United States. According to...

ALBUQUERQUE – A previously deported Mexican national, together with his Hobbs based distributor and her associates, has been charged in federal court with running a methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking network that brought large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl and armed drug dealers into the Hobbs community. According to court documents...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Eduardo Valenzuela Lopez, 33, of Cajeme, Sonora, Mexico, and Jael Gonzalez Banuelos, 22, of Phoenix, Arizona, were arrested on the morning of Feb. 24, 2026, by members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Valenzuela Lopez and Gonzalez Banuelos were charged by criminal...

SAN DIEGO – A superseding indictment unsealed today charges René Arzate-García, aka “La Rana,” alleged Tijuana plaza boss for the Sinaloa Cartel, with Narcoterrorism and Material Support of Terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. Also today, the U.S. Department...

Note: View Blano-Joo Indictment View Seas-Centeno Indictment ALBUQUERQUE – Two Mexican nationals were removed to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges in New Mexico. Daniel Alfred Blanco-Joo, 39, made his initial appearance today in New Mexico after being removed from Mexico on a five-count indictment charging him...

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man was sentenced in federal court to 188 months in prison for distribution of fentanyl causing death, announced Omar Arellano, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's El Paso Division and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons. According...

Tucson, Ariz. – Ramon Renteria, 33, of Avondale, Arizona, was sentenced on Jan. 15, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Angela M. Martinez to 64 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release, with community restitution and a fine totaling $7,000. Renteria previously pleaded guilty to Possession with...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Aaron Leopoldo Aguirre-Gutierrez, 50, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on Jan. 20, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Aguirre-Gutierrez previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine. Between Feb. 24, 2024, to...

EL PASO, Texas – Dr. Brian August, located in El Paso, has agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act, the False Claims Act, and the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. The allegations involved the issuance of 255 controlled substance prescriptions to...