TUCSON, Ariz. – Armando Puentes-Melendez, 38, of Mexico, was sentenced on April 24, 2025, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 60 months in prison. Puentes-Melendez previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. On January 18, 2024, law enforcement agents intercepted a drug transaction involving over 100...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Adrian Lopez-Aparicio, 40, of Mexico, was sentenced on April 24, 2025, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 41 months in prison. Lopez-Aparicio previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. On October 3, 2024, Lopez-Aparicio was found in possession...

Phoenix, AZ– The Drug Enforcement Administration, in coordination with more than 4,400 law enforcement partners across the country, will host the 28th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day THIS Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering communities across the United States a safe, convenient, and anonymous way...

SAN DIEGO – Four indictments were unsealed in federal court charging 16 individuals throughout San Diego County with distributing large quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin and laundering drug-trafficking proceeds. In a coordinated takedown yesterday, more than 115 federal, state and local law enforcement officials arrested 10 defendants and executed...

TUCSON, Ariz. –Sergio Humberto Ramos, 73, of Nogales, was sentenced last week by United States District Court Chief Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Ramos pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, admitting that he was paid...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Carlos Rene Montes, 32, a United States Citizen from Tucson, and Miguel Angel Sesma, 30, a legal permanent resident from Mexico living in Phoenix, were charged on Tuesday by federal criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl after agents seized a combined...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jose Bibiano Cabrera-Cabrera, 37; Jesus Humberto Limon-Lopez, 43; and Jose Guadalupe Tapia-Quintero, 53; all of Mexico, appeared last week for their initial appearances after they were secured from Mexico on February 27, 2025. The defendants taken into U.S. custody include leaders and managers of drug cartels recently...

Washington, DC – In January 2025, Ibrar A. Mian was appointed as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, which covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV). Special Agent in Charge Mian's vast experience in both domestic and international drug investigations...

SAN DIEGO – Marcus Ray Chavez was sentenced in federal court today to 262 months in prison for providing the fentanyl pills that resulted in the fatal overdose of a 15-year-old girl in 2022. According to court documents, on at least four occasions between September and November 2022, Chavez provided...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jefferson Alejandro Lopez Alcaraz, 45, of Phoenix, was sentenced on February 13, 2025, by United States District Judge John T. Tuchi to 180 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, to run consecutive to the 60-month sentence Lopez Alcaraz is currently serving in CR-21-00451-TUC-JCH...