SAN DIEGO – Keith Octavio Rodriguez Padilla, a prolific firearms trafficker, was sentenced in federal court today to 19.5 years in custody for his role in supplying weapons and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition to the Sinaloa Cartel. This case is part of a long-running investigation targeting the...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Heriberto Lopez-Landeros, 44, of Avondale, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Steven P. Logan to 14 years in prison. Lopez-Landeros pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on August 5, 2024. Lopez-Landeros was the head of an Arizona-based drug trafficking organization responsible...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Enrique Heriberto Nunez-Tiznado, 45, of Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on February 22, 2024, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 63 months in prison. Nunez-Tiznado pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine, and Methamphetamine, and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Hector Manuel Cruz, Jr., 29, of Chandler, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge G. Murray Snow to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On April 25, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Co-defendant Konstantin...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Cecilia Campos, 49, of Pellham, Alabama, was sentenced on June 14, 2023, by United States District Court Judge James A. Soto to 18 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Campos pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Today, United States and Mexican law enforcement announced significant enforcement actions against a prolific transnational drug trafficking organization operating in Nogales, Sonora, along the U.S.-Mexico border. After extensive bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, Fiscalía General de la República (FGR) –...

PHOENIX - Special Agent in Charge Cheri Oz and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Luis Torres Jaramillo was sentenced to 9.25 years prison on July 13, 2022 for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization. On July 22, 2021, police arrested Jaramillo after observing him conduct a drug transaction...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week, Jamaar Charles Samuels, 39, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Scott H. Rash to 72 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Last summer, Judge Rash sentenced Samuels’ co-defendant, Patrick Michael La Fever, 60, also of Tucson, to 97...

SAN DIEGO – A two-year investigation has led to the indictment of 26 defendants for international drug smuggling, drug trafficking, and related conspiracy offenses. One of the defendants, Raul Barajas-Padilla, appeared in federal court yesterday for an initial appearance on the indictment. So far, 17 defendants have been arrested. Efforts...

PHOENIX - On Friday, June 3, 2022, brothers Osmar Martinez-Ochoa, 30, and Hector Martinez-Ochoa, 28, of Tucson, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker to each serve 11 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The Martinez-Ochoa brothers previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute...