United States Drug Enforcement Administration

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...

SAN DIEG O - Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Hector Hernandez, who admitted that he took bribes to smuggle methamphetamine and people across the U.S.-Mexico border while on duty, was sentenced in federal court today to 87-months in prison. Hernandez pleaded guilty in January, admitting that he agreed to use...

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...

SAN DIEG O - Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Hector Hernandez pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he used his official position to smuggle unauthorized immigrants and illegal drugs across the border in exchange for money. According to his plea agreement, Hernandez admitted to using his official position...

Phoenix, Ariz. - On November 29, 2023, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an 11-count indictment against Jorge Damian Roman-Figueroa, Luis Eduardo Roman-Flores, Manuel Jose Bernal, Joel Salazar-Ballesteros, and Jesus Armando Gonzalez-Villela, citizens of Mexico, for Conspiracy to Transport Aliens; Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments; Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana...

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...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Martha Betancourth Angulo, 34, of Torrance, California, was indicted on one count each of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. The indictment alleges that, on June 29, 2023, Angulo was traveling on Interstate 8 in Yuma County, Arizona, when she...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Rudy Vasquez Cervantes, 20, of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that, on June 30, 2023, Cervantes was traveling by vehicle when he was stopped...

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...