DEA: Five Sentenced in Fentanyl Ring Using Semi-Trucks
Five defendants have been sentenced for roles in a drug trafficking organization that moved fentanyl and methamphetamine from Phoenix, Arizona, to Valencia County, New Mexico, and laundered proceeds to Mexico, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors said the group ran from July 2022 through June 2023, importing fentanyl pills from Culiacán, Mexico, and distributing them in New Mexico.
Court documents cite two interdictions involving commercial trucks. On November 17, 2022, a semi-truck stopped in Bernalillo County carried about 12.6 kilograms of fentanyl pills and 10 kilograms of methamphetamine. On May 28, 2023, a truck towing a vehicle concealed about 6 kilograms of fentanyl pills and 18 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Sentences ranged from 34 to 138 months. Irving Alvarez-Rosales and Julio Alberto Zamora-Ramirez, who coordinated large-scale fentanyl operations and a related money-laundering scheme, received 138 and 108 months respectively. Rodrigo Rojas, tied to the two truck seizures, was sentenced to 70 months. Roberto Zavala-Roman and Efren Torres-Ruiz received 34 and 46 months. All face supervised release after prison; there is no federal parole. The DEA El Paso Division led the investigation.
What's next
- No further court dates or additional defendants are listed in the release.
- Watch for related DEA enforcement actions along the Arizona-New Mexico corridor.
All sources
- Five Defendants Sentenced for Roles in Arizona-to-New Mexico Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy — U.S. Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)), 2026-11-12
