DEA-Led Investigation Dismantles Albuquerque-Based Drug Trafficking Organization

ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division, announced the results of a law enforcement operation that resulted in fifteen defendants being charged with federal drug trafficking offenses. The operation followed a DEA led investigation into a significant drug trafficking organization based in Albuquerque.

During the enforcement operation, law enforcement authorities executed federal search warrants at thirteen residences and seized approximately 102 pounds of meth, 21 kilograms of cocaine, 2.8 kilograms of heroin, approximately 10,000 fentanyl pills, 34 firearms, and approximately $124,000 in cash.  At least 8 of these firearms were “ghost guns,” which lack serial numbers. 

During the investigation leading up to the search warrants, law enforcement authorities seized over 20 kilograms of methamphetamine and 10 kilograms of fentanyl. 

The defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine between August 19, 2020, and November 29, 2023. Three defendants face additional charges for distribution of a controlled substance within one thousand feet of Wilson Middle School in southeast Albuquerque.

A criminal indictment is only an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendants face sentences of at least five years in prison. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case with the assistance of the Rio Rancho Police Department, the Pojoaque Pueblo Police Department, the Laguna Police Department, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was instrumental in assisting the Drug Enforcement Administration in recovering the 34 firearms referenced above.

The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Hirsch and Joseph Spindle are prosecuting the case.

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