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...

ALBUQUERQUE – A Hobbs man was sentenced to 26 years in prison for drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession as a convicted felon. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, on October 19, 2023, agents with the Lea County Drug Task Force stopped a SUV...

ALBUQUERQUE – Four members of the Navarrette Drug Trafficking Organization have been indicted, and one charged by a criminal complaint, on federal drug trafficking charges following an investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in Hobbs, New Mexico. According to court documents, from October 2024, through December 2025...

Phoenix, Ariz. – Jose Guadalupe Tapia-Quintero, 54, of San Francisco de Tacuichamona, Sinaloa, Mexico pleaded guilty on November 17, 2025 for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine with Intent to Import into the United States and Conspiracy to Commit Concealment Money Laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for February 2, 2026, before United States...

ALBUQUERQUE – Two Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States were sentenced to 17 and 22 years in federal prison following a multi-agency drug investigation that uncovered methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and multiple loaded firearms at an Albuquerque residence. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, Jose Ismael Castro Leon, 47, a Mexican national living in the United States illegally, was charged by federal criminal complaint in Phoenix, Arizona with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl. According to the complaint, investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) East...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, John Avendano, 21, of Phoenix, Arizona, was charged by federal criminal complaint in Phoenix, Arizona with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. According to the complaint, on September 22, a Task Force Officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) East Valley Drug Enforcement Task...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jorge Anaya-Valencia, 48, of Guyamas, Sonora, Mexico, who was unlawfully living in Arizona, was sentenced on September 23, by United States District Judge Krissa M. Lanham to 180 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. Anaya-Valencia’s co-defendants, all illegal aliens, were previously sentenced in this case...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On September 17, Mariano Gomez Padilla, 28, Eduardo Garcia Lopez, 21, and Abel Martinez Valenzuela, 25, all Mexican nationals living in Arizona, were charged by federal criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. According to the complaint, on September 17, Drug Enforcement...

Note: View the Indictment ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man has been indicted on federal charges following a DEA investigation that uncovered a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation in Albuquerque. According to court documents, on August 13, 2025, DEA agents conducted an undercover operation in Albuquerque in which Jose Magana Garcia, a...