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...

TACOMA, Wash. – A key member of a drug distribution ring selling fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, and heroin throughout the Puget Sound region was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 14 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy and for possessing firearms in furtherance of drug...

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...

TACOMA, Wash. – A 32-year-old Renton, Washington resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 13 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking ring connected to Aryan prison gangs, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Shawn Ellis was arrested in March 2023, when...

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...

BOISE – Efren Alexander Aviles-Pacheco, 29, of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, illegally living in Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Senior U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Aviles-Pacheco to serve 10...

As part of an ongoing investigation into fentanyl/heroin trafficking in New York City, federal, state and local law enforcement officers recovered over 13 pounds of drug mixtures, including fentanyl, heroin, xylazine, methamphetamine, and cocaine, from inside a packaging mill. The drugs are estimated to carry a street value of over...

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...