ALBUQUERQUE – Two Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States were sentenced to 17 and 22 years in federal prison following a multi-agency drug investigation that uncovered methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and multiple loaded firearms at an Albuquerque residence. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court...

Note: View the Indictment ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man has been indicted on federal charges following a DEA investigation that uncovered a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation in Albuquerque. According to court documents, on August 13, 2025, DEA agents conducted an undercover operation in Albuquerque in which Jose Magana Garcia, a...

ALBUQUERQUE – A Hobbs woman involved in a high-speed chase with law enforcement was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses uncovered during an investigation into a significant fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution operation. According to court records, on October 19, 2023, agents with the...

EL PASO, Texas – An indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Texas is the first in the nation to charge a Mexican national with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization based on her involvement with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), including providing the...

ALBUQUERQUE – An Arizona man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses following his arrest at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in New Mexico in 2023. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, on April 27, 2023, David Maldonado...

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man was sentenced in a federal court to 180 months in prison for trafficking fentanyl and other illicit drugs. According to court documents, Victor Arellano, 40, delivered 1,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover agent in exchange for $1,500 on or about Nov. 28...

Note: View the Plea Agreement ALBUQUERQUE – An El Paso man pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges after fleeing a Border Patrol checkpoint in Otero County, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in a head-on collision with a motorcyclist and the discovery of nearly 10 kilograms of pure...

MIDLAND, Texas – A Mexican national unlawfully residing in Texas was sentenced Thursday to life in federal prison for his criminal actions as the leader of a drug trafficking organization tied to a Mexican cartel. According to court documents, Jose Ramon Castillo-Lopez aka “Pepo,” 30, of Namiquipa, Chihuahua, Mexico, supplied...

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man with a history of felony convictions was sentenced to 248 months in federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses after being found guilty at trial of possessing nearly two pounds of methamphetamine and a loaded handgun. There is no parole in the federal system...

ALBUQUERQUE – This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Marshal Service, the Las Cruces Police Department, and the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office, conducted a coordinated operation to dismantle a significant drug trafficking network in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The operation targeted 15...