Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – As the result of an investigation into the narcotics trafficking activities of a Mexican national drug trafficking organization operating in Oklahoma City, a total of 21 individuals have now been convicted and sentenced to a collective total of 1,543 months in prison, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. Twenty of these defendants were convicted in federal court and sentenced to a combined total of 1,447 months in federal prison. Another defendant was convicted in state court and sentenced to 96 months in state prison.

"The cases from this investigation demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement to dismantling transnational criminal organizations involved in the transportation and distribution of illicit narcotics," said U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats.

"This case is yet another example of how the Multi-Agency Task Force concept, using the combined resources and intelligence from local, state, and federal Oklahoma law enforcement agencies, is the most effective and efficient way to dismantle organized drug trafficking groups," said Richard W. Salter Jr., Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Oklahoma City District Office. "The good citizens of Oklahoma deserve and should expect nothing less than this type of service from their public safety agencies."

"The successful prosecution of this complex investigation represents a cooperative effort among multiple law enforcement agencies working thousands of man-hours," said James Delia, Resident Agent in Charge, HSI Oklahoma City. "We dismantled a drug-smuggling organization and reduced a significant threat to public safety, which is our ultimate goal."

In June of 2011, approximately 100 city, county, and federal law enforcement officers executed multiple federal arrest and search warrants, resulting in charges against multiple defendants in two separate complaints alleging two conspiracies to possess and distribute methamphetamine. This joint operation was a multi-agency task force investigation into a Mexican national drug trafficking organization operating in the Oklahoma City area.

This investigation was conducted through the joint efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Oklahoma City Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, United States Marshals Service, IRS Criminal Investigation and the DEA Task Force (which consists of officers from Oklahoma City Police Department, Yukon Police Department, Edmond Police Department, Norman Police Department, Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, and the District 21 [Cleveland County] Drug Task Force).

As detailed in court records, the investigation included physical surveillance, arrests, seizures, and electronic surveillance, among other investigative techniques. The investigation culminated in the filing of two related, but separate indictments that were filed in federal court. For specific further information, reference is made to court records.

In sum, a total of 21 defendants were prosecuted and convicted in federal and state court. The following is a list of the 20 defendants convicted in federal court and the sentence they received:

No	Name	Age From	Disposition	Sentence
1	FIDENCIO CASTILLO-DELGADO	28 Mexico	Pled guilty to distribution of a controlled substanceand money laundering conspiracy	121 mos. 04/12/2012
2	TOMAS COLORADO (a/k/a “Tomas LNU,” “Mario Gutierrez-Sosa,” “Mario Sosa, or “Tomas Perez-Colorado”)	33 Mexico	Pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a schedule II controlled substance	120 mos. 06/13/2012
3	JOSE SALVADOR FLORES (a/k/a “JaimeCruiz Rivera,” “Jaime Cruz,” “Jose Flores- Torres,” “Jose Salvador-Flores,” “Serafin Navarro-Magallon,” “Jose Flores,” or “Jose Salvador”)	40 Mexico	Pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a schedule II controlled substance	168 mos. 03/22/2012
4	ANGEL MORALES-RENTERAL (a/k/a“Angel”)	32 Mexico	Pled guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribution of a schedule II controlled substance and money laundering	84 mos. 06/12/2012
5	ROBERTO F. FRANCO	38 Mexico	Pled guilty to distribution of a schedule II controlled substance and aiding and abetting	36 mos. 03/20/2012
6	ALVARO CASTILLO (a/k/a “Burra”)	32 Mexico	Pled guilty to distribution of a controlled substance and money laundering conspiracy	108 mos. 08/22/2012
7	MARTIN FAVELA-ROJO	27 Mexico	Pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a schedule II controlled substance	24 mos. 06/19/2012
8	CESAR JULIO FANI-ROMERO	26 Mexico	Pled guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises with intent to distribute a controlled substance and aiding and abetting	36 mos. 06/19/2012
9	MARTIN ROSALES-GONZALES (a/k/a“Maco” or “Matin Gonzalez Rosales”)	43 Mexico	Pled guilty to an illegal alien eluding immigration officers	5 mos. 11/08/2011
10	HUGO REYES-MEZA	23 Mexico	Pled guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises with intent to distribute a controlled substance	42 mos. 03/20/2012
11	CANDELARIO FAVELA-ROJO	31 Mexico	Pled guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute a schedule II substance	76 mos. 04/06/2012
12	GUADALUPE MARQUEZ	27 Mexico	Pled guilty to distribution of a schedule II substance	60 mos. 03/22/2012
13	RAFAEL QUINTERO-RIVAS (a/k/a “Rafael Quintero” or “Guero”)	38 Mexico	Found guilty by a jury (see below)	151 mos. 06/14/2012
14	VALENTE CAMPOS	34 Mexico	Found guilty by a jury (see below)	27 mos. 03/29/2012
15	JESUS FIGUEROA-LABRADA (a/k/a “Chuy”)	28 Mexico	Found guilty by a jury (see below)	120 mos. 03/29/2012

16	IRVING LECHUGA-GARCIA	24 Mexico	Pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a schedule II controlled substance	92 mos. 01/19/2012
17	ELOY VILLA-CAZARES (a/k/a “Leonel Flores” or “El Grande”)	32 Mexico	Pled guilty to distribution of a schedule II controlled substance	24 mos. 03/26/2012
18	JOSE ANGEL GONZALEZ-GANDARILA	38 Mexico	Found guilty by a jury (see below)	100 mos. 06/14/2012
19	IVAN GUZMAN-TORRES (a/k/a “Juan Hernandez”)	29 Mexico	Pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance	26 mos. 02/01/2012
20	TOMAS OLIVAS	53 Mexico	Pled guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute a schedule II controlled substance	27 mos. 06/06/2012

Of the 20 defendants prosecuted in federal court, 16 pled guilty and four exercised their right to jury trial:

• A jury convicted Rafael Quintero-Rivas of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, four counts of distribution or possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and four counts of use of a cellular phone to facilitate a drug felony. He was sentenced to serve 151 months in federal prison.
• A jury convicted Valente Campos of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of use of a cellular phone to facilitate a drug felony. He was sentenced to serve 27 months in federal prison.
• A jury convicted Jesus Figueroa-Labrada of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of distribution or possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of use of a cellular phone to facilitate a drug felony. He was sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison.
• A jury convicted Jose Angel Gonzales-Gandrilla of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, on count of distribution of methamphetamine, and one count of use of a cellular phone to facilitate a drug felony. He was sentenced to serve 100 months in federal prison.

In addition to the 20 defendants prosecuted in federal court, one defendant, ELOY MARROQUIN-CHAVEZ (a/k/a “Eloy Chavez,” or “Eloy Marroquin”), 44, from Mexico, was convicted in a related case in Lincoln County District Court and sentenced to 96 months in state prison.

These cases are the result of a joint investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the Oklahoma City Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation and the DEA Task Force which consists of officers from the Oklahoma City Police Department, Yukon Police Department, Edmond Police Department, Norman Police Department, Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, and the District 21 (Cleveland County) Drug Task Force. These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Petermann.

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