16 Arrested in Sweeping Drug Bust Across Southern New Mexico

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After an 18-month investigation, federal officials announced on November 7 that 16 people were arrested and hundreds of grams of illegal drugs seized in a crackdown on a criminal organization operating in southern New Mexico.

At the news conference, officials revealed the arrests and drug seizures as well as issued a strong warning to criminal smuggling networks across the state. “If corrupt traffickers think that they can come into southern New Mexico and set up shop, they’re sadly mistaken,” said Towanda James-Thorne, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s El Paso division. “The DEA will continue to partner with state, local, and federal agencies to combat them and bring them to justice.”

The individuals charged with federal drug crimes include 15 suspects from Las Cruces and one from Canutillo, Texas. Those named are Armando Conrad Gonzales, a.k.a. “Forty,” 43; Leticia Maria Rodriguez, 41; Jessica Juel Henderson, a.k.a. “J.J.,” 45; Veronica Levario, 39; Richard Regan Beserra, 47; Daniel Roberto Herrera, a.k.a. “Fat Boy,” 33; Ernesto Salas Flores, 63; Beatriz Adriana Gonzalez, a.k.a. Beatriz Adriana Herrera-Gonzalez, 46; Sylvia Ann Parra, 52; Amanda Lea Weinrich, 38; Phillip Andrew Estell, a.k.a. “Flip,” 43; D’Anna Michelle Chavez, 47; Bruce Martin King, 68; Angel Flores, 45; Kenneth Eric Yeager, 44; and Antonio Valles, a.k.a. “Tony,” 49.

Officials said eight more suspects face state charges. “This is a drug trafficking organization that doesn’t have a formal name, but they were all working together,” explained Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Camacho.

Court records indicate that 14 of the defendants are suspected of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, while another defendant allegedly allowed their residence to be used for drug distribution and use. Five search warrants executed across Las Cruces and other parts of southern New Mexico resulted in the confiscation of 1,315.2 grams of methamphetamine, 394.5 grams of fentanyl pills (about 4,000 pills), and three firearms.

Additional searches led to the seizure of 842 grams of fentanyl, 1,118 grams of methamphetamine, 285 grams of cocaine, 36 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 400 grams of marijuana, 96 grams of hydrocodone, 13 firearms, and $2,200 in cash, according to the news release.

Wiretaps were central to the investigation, according to Camacho. “This case involved many investigative techniques, including a six-month wiretap operation, use of confidential informants, and undercover agents,” she said. Camacho added that local intelligence from the Las Cruces Police Department and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department was essential to federal efforts.

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