United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ALBUQUERQUE - David Mendoza-Enriquez was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for leading a drug trafficking organization responsible for moving tens of thousands of fentanyl pills from Mexico into Albuquerque, along with alien smuggling and importing illegal wildlife.

According to court records, from at least 2020 through January 2023, Mendoza, 42, a Mexican national illegally present in the United States, was the head of a fentanyl distribution network that transported large quantities of pills from Juarez across the U.S. border and onto Albuquerque streets. Beginning in 2020, law enforcement initiated an undercover investigation that resulted in multiple controlled purchases directly from Mendoza, including a 2022 transaction involving nearly 5,000 fentanyl pills at his restaurant, Taco-H. Mendoza coordinated additional multi-thousand-pill deals and handled drug proceeds.

The investigation intensified in early 2023 following a shooting tied to Mendoza’s associates. During the response to that incident, officers discovered a live tiger cub concealed inside a trailer. The tiger cub, now named “Duke,” was transferred to the ABQ BioPark, and later to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado.

Further investigation revealed that Mendoza had also conspired to import other exotic animals for profit and sought to expand his criminal operation into alien smuggling, arranging for his sons and other individuals to be transported from Mexico into the United States. On one occasion, he directed aliens to cross the border alongside an alligator, which had its mouth taped shut.

Mendoza was charged along with 13 co-defendants in a 26-count superseding indictment returned in January 2024, alleging drug and firearms trafficking offenses. Mendoza later plead guilty to eight federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, four counts of distribution of fentanyl, alien in possession of ammunition, conspiracy to smuggle aliens, and conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act for illegal wildlife trafficking.

To date, 14 co-defendants have pled guilty and seven have been sentenced.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison, Omar Arellano, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division, Ryan G. McRae, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations - El Paso, and Doug Ault, Assistant Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, made the announcement today.

The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations - El Paso, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Rio Rancho Police Department, the Pojoaque Pueblo Police Department, the Laguna Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hirsch prosecuted the case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.