2 Mexican men plead guilty in NM to trafficking methamphetamine

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two Mexican men pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to methamphetamine trafficking, following a multi-agency investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Miguel Rangel Arce, 36, and Rogelio Santiago Quiroa-Valdez, 25, were among eight San Juan (New Mexico) County residents charged with federal narcotics trafficking offenses. Their co-defendant, Luis Rangel Arce, 44, also a Mexican national, pleaded guilty plea in this case the previous week.

HSI special agents worked jointly with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Region II Narcotics Task Force to investigate methamphetamine trafficking on a Navajo Indian Reservation in northwestern New Mexico.  The three men were arrested in May 2016 during a law enforcement operation that included the execution of two search warrants at residences in Shiprock and Kirtland, New Mexico.

The investigation leading to the federal charges was initiated in response to an increase in methamphetamine trafficking on the Navajo Indian Reservation in the Shiprock area, and was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, which 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.

This investigation identified eight defendants, who were charged in five indictments, through a series of methamphetamine purchases by undercover law enforcement officers.  During the operation, law enforcement authorities seized more than 2 ½ pounds of methamphetamine, 10 firearms, about $1,600 in cash and a vehicle.  

Miguel Rangel Arce, Quiroa-Valdez and Luis Rangel Arce were charged with methamphetamine trafficking charges in a seven-count indictment filed in April 2016.  The indictment charged the three men with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy between November 2015 and March 2016, and with distributing methamphetamine on six occasions between January and March 2016.  According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in San Juan County, New Mexico. 

During the Aug. 30 proceedings, Miguel Rangel Arce pleaded guilty to participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and admitted that from Nov. 24, 2015, through March 17, 2016, he conspired to distribute between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine to an undercover officer. At sentencing, Miguel Rangel Arce faces a statutory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.

Quiroa-Valdez pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and admitted that on Feb. 24, 2016, he distributed 85.5 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover officer. At sentencing Quiroa-Valdez faces a statutory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

Luis Rangel Arce pleaded guilty Aug. 16, 2016, to distributing methamphetamine Jan. 11 and 14, 2016. In entering his guilty plea, Luis Rangel Arce admitted distributing to an undercover officer 63.17 grams and 55.3 grams of methamphetamine Jan. 11 and Jan. 14, respectively.   At sentencing, Luis Rangel Arce faces a statutory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.   

The three defendants remain in custody pending their sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled.  After they complete their prison sentences, they will be turned over to ICE custody and placed in removal proceedings.

The other five defendants were charged with methamphetamine trafficking charges in four other indictments.  One has entered a guilty plea and is awaiting sentencing. 

The other four defendants have entered not-guilty pleas and are awaiting trial.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

The following agencies assisted with this investigation:  FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Shiprock Office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, New Mexico State Police, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Farmington (New Mexico) Police Department, and New Mexico National Guard. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez, District of New Mexico, is prosecuting these cases.

The HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, and Farmington, Bloomfield and Aztec police departments. The HIDTA program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.