DALLAS, TX - A methamphetamine trafficker was convicted on March 18, 2026, by a federal jury in Amarillo, Texas, for his role in possessing and conspiring to distribute approximately $400,000 worth of methamphetamine. Cameron Nesbitt, 33, of Lancaster, California, was indicted in late August 2025 for conspiracy and possession with...

PHOENIX, Ariz — DEA Special Agent in Charge Apolonio Ruiz Jr. joined Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and HIDTA Director Dawn Mertz to announce the results of a major multi-agency drug operation targeting criminal organizations operating in Arizona communities. “This extraordinary investigation saved countless lives,”...

DALLAS, TX – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Kenny Ray Smith, age 62, of Whitesboro, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 240 months in prison each for two counts of Distribution of Methamphetamine. The Court ordered the sentences to be served concurrently. The charges...

DALLAS, TX - An illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for his top leadership role in distributing methamphetamine in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In October 2024, Raymundo Bernal Saucedo (“Bernal”), 33, pled guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Eduardo Valenzuela Lopez, 33, of Cajeme, Sonora, Mexico, and Jael Gonzalez Banuelos, 22, of Phoenix, Arizona, were arrested on the morning of Feb. 24, 2026, by members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Valenzuela Lopez and Gonzalez Banuelos were charged by criminal...

SAN DIEGO – A superseding indictment unsealed today charges René Arzate-García, aka “La Rana,” alleged Tijuana plaza boss for the Sinaloa Cartel, with Narcoterrorism and Material Support of Terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. Also today, the U.S. Department...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Aaron Leopoldo Aguirre-Gutierrez, 50, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on Jan. 20, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Aguirre-Gutierrez previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine. Between Feb. 24, 2024, to...

Tucson, Ariz. – Ramon Renteria, 33, of Avondale, Arizona, was sentenced on Jan. 15, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Angela M. Martinez to 64 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release, with community restitution and a fine totaling $7,000. Renteria previously pleaded guilty to Possession with...

SAN DIEGO – Nameer Mohammad Atta was sentenced in federal court today to 20 years in prison for distributing the fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of a 26-year-old active-duty lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps on May 21, 2020. When handing down the sentence, U.S. District...

SAN DIEGO – Claudia Patricia Alvarez Hernandez, the wife of incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Jorge Alberto Valenzuela Valenzuela, was sentenced in federal court today to 14 years in prison for her role in a massive drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Andrew G. Schopler also ordered Alvarez...