United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MIDLAND, Texas – A Midland man was sentenced in a federal court in Midland to 20 years in prison for his role in a fatal fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. According to court documents, William Jake Childers, 39, trafficked counterfeit M-30 Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that led to the deaths of two...

EL PASO, Texas – A San Antonio man was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 132 months in prison for distributing fentanyl-laced pills through the mail, leading to the death of an El Paso woman. According to court documents, Brennan Dane Short, 49, sold counterfeit M-30 pills...

EL PASO, Texas – Two El Paso women have been sentenced in a federal court in El Paso prison for their roles in the fentanyl poisoning death of a 19-year-old single mother. According to court documents, Kathy Lee Nicole Bradford, 32, coordinated the sale of M-30 pills to a woman...

ALBUQUERQUE – A California man was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for attempting to transport over 2 kilograms of heroin by train from Bernalillo County to North Carolina. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, on February 26, 2021, Mario A. Serna was...

ALBUQUERQUE – The last of the eight defendants indicted following a joint law enforcement operation in Carlsbad last year pleaded guilty to federal drug offenses in federal court yesterday. Jesus Alonso Cerezo-Espidio , 51, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 5 grams and more of...

ALBUQUERQUE – A Mexican national was convicted by a federal jury of drug trafficking and firearms offenses after less than 22 minutes of deliberation. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on February 22, 2022 , Albuquerque Police Department Officers (APD) were dispatched to a stolen vehicle call...

ALBUQUERQUE – A Carlsbad man was sentenced to 240 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Manuel Pineda Montoya , 44, was...

ALBUQUERQUE – Three of the eight defendants indicted following a joint enforcement operation last year in Carlsbad, pleaded guilty in federal court to federal drug offenses. Carlos Venegas, Jr., 24, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty on March 4, 2024, to one count each of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams and more...

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal judge sentenced an Albuquerque man to 57 months in federal prison for maintaining a drug-involved premises in southeast Albuquerque. As the manager of the Best Choice Inn, Kamal Bhula, 44, of Albuquerque, profited from in a kickback scheme that required drug traffickers and users to pay...

ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Kassandra Lee Perales and Jared Michael Moore, two of the 12 defendants arrested during a joint enforcement...