Final Defendant Sentenced for Tucson-Based Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Conspiracy

TUCSON, Ariz. – Cecilia Campos, 49, of Pellham, Alabama, was sentenced on June 14, 2023, by United States District Court Judge James A. Soto to 18 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Campos pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine and Conspiracy to Commit Laundering of Monetary Instruments.

Campos’ co-conspirators pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows:

• Juan Randolfo Parrado-Herrera, 63, of Tucson, Arizona pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Cocaine and Conspiracy to Commit Laundering of Monetary Instruments. He also admitted that these crimes were committed while he was serving a term of supervised release in another federal case. He was sentenced to 180 months in prison on the new charges and a concurrent term of 24 months on the supervised release violation. His prison term will be followed by 60 months of supervised release.

• Ana Fernanda Contreras, 32, of Tucson, Arizona pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Laundering of Monetary Instruments. She was sentenced to a term of one year probation.

• Markita Denise Caldwell, 48, of Raytown, Missouri, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Laundering of Monetary Instruments. She was sentenced to 10 months in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release.

Parrado-Herrera and his co-conspirators possessed with intent to distribute 1,412.5 grams of methamphetamine, 122.8 grams of heroin, and 29 grams of cocaine to locations in and outside of Arizona for several years up until June 2, 2017.

As part of the conspiracy, Parrado-Herrera and Campos mailed numerous packages containing drugs from Tucson, Arizona to Hialeah and Orlando, Florida. Caldwell also mailed several different packages of narcotics to her residences in Kansas City, Missouri. Parrado-Herrera, Campos, Contreras, and Caldwell conspired to launder United States currency by directing the proceeds of narcotic sales to be deposited into accounts in the name of or accessible to Parrado-Herrera and Campos. Parrado-Herrera and Campos directed other co-conspirators across the country to deposit the proceeds of narcotic sales into bank accounts under their control, later withdrawing these proceeds from accounts in Tucson, Arizona. Parrado-Herrera and Campos laundered over $250,000 of narcotic proceeds using this method. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Sandra M. Hansen, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-18-02174-JAS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-105-Campos

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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