United States Drug Enforcement Administration

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today by United States District Judge Cristina D. Silva to 84 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, and to launder thousands of dollars of drug proceeds to Mexico. The government recommended a sentence of 84 months in prison.

“Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction in our communities, and those who traffic it are dealing in pure death,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “The defendant poured thousands of these lethal pills onto our streets with a callous disregard for human life, caring only about his bottom line. Every single ounce he distributed was a potential overdose and a shattered family. We will remain relentless and aggressive in hunting down anyone who pushes this poison into our neighborhoods, and we will ensure they spend a very long time behind federal bars.”

“Methamphetamine and fentanyl continue to devastate American communities,” David Olesky, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, which covers Nevada. “Traffickers exploit our neighborhoods for profit, but today’s sentencing serves as a reminder that drug crimes will be met with strict accountability and zero tolerance. The DEA remains committed to working with our HSTF partners to cut off drug flows and block the money laundering networks funding Mexican drug operations.”

According to court documents, between June 2025 and January 14, 2026, Efrain Cabada-Martinez conspired with co-defendants Juan Carlos Cabada-Mendoza, Isaac Theojaris Tapia-Cabada, and others to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl in Las Vegas. Additionally, Cabada-Martinez conspired with employees at a money services business in Las Vegas to send drug proceeds from Las Vegas to drug suppliers in Mexico. 

Cabada-Martinez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

The DEA investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Brister prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.