United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - - Omar Alejandro Alfaro, 37, of Texas, was sentenced yesterday to 84 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to sell large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to Alaska based drug dealers.   The conspiracy began in January 2013 and continued until October 2014. During that time, co-conspirators imported a total of 12 kilograms of heroin and two pounds of methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico.

Alfaro previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.  As part of his guilty plea, Alfaro admitted that he personally delivered large quantities of drugs on multiple occasions to Alaska-based co-conspirators who then transported the drugs to Anchorage for distribution. In March 2014, for example, Alfaro delivered approximately one kilogram of heroin to an undercover DEA agent posing as an Alaska-based drug dealer. Several months later, in June 2014, Alfaro again delivered drugs to the undercover agent - this time, he delivered approximately 2.5 kilograms of heroin and 866 grams of actual methamphetamine. During the exchange, the undercover agent provided Alfaro with an Alaska themed t-shirt that had been requested by Alfaro’s Mexico-based coconspirator.

During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline noted the devastating consequences that heroin and methamphetamine have on individuals and was particularly concerned about the significant quantity of drugs for which Alfaro was personally responsible. In sentencing Alfaro, Judge Beistline also emphasized the need for deterrence and the need to reinforce societal norms.

The sentencing hearing is related to a string of indictments returned in late 2014 and early 2015 as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle and prosecute several large scale drug trafficking rings with ties to Alaska, California, Texas, Arizona, and Mexico. To date, the following individuals have been sentenced as part of these efforts:

• Timothy Alex, an Anchorage drug distributor, previously sentenced to 108 months in prison;
• Daniel Harris, an Anchorage drug distributor, previously sentenced to 135 months in prison;
• Jose Ramon Canales, of Texas, previously sentenced to 70 months in prison for laundering drug money out of the United States and into Mexico;
• Genaro Gutierrez-Reyes, of California, previously sentenced to 18 months in prison for laundering drug money out of the United States and into Mexico;
• Jorge Armando Zaragoza-Soto, of Mexico, previously sentenced to 96 months in prison for drug trafficking;
• Geronimo Arellano Velarde, of California, previously sentenced to 120 months in prison for drug trafficking; and
• Tomas Gutierrez Ayala, of California, previously sentenced to 75 months in prison for drug trafficking.

Several other defendants are set to be sentenced in the coming months for their roles in trafficking heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine to Alaska and then transporting the cash proceeds of their trafficking activities back to Mexico.

This and the related cases were investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task (OCDETF). The investigating agencies are as follows: The Drug Enforcement (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of (FBI), the U.S. Postal Inspection (USPIS), U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE), which oversees Homeland Security (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and (ATF), the Anchorage Police (APD), the Alaska State (AST), and the Anchorage Airport Police Department. Additional assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Texas, the Eastern and Central Districts of California, and the District of Arizona, as well as federal agents in all three states.