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Press Release

Mexican Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Over 15 Years for Conspiracy to Distribute 167 Pounds of Methamphetamine

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jorge Anaya-Valencia, 48, of Guyamas, Sonora, Mexico, who was unlawfully living in Arizona, was sentenced on September 23, by United States District Judge Krissa M. Lanham to 180 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.

Anaya-Valencia’s co-defendants, all illegal aliens, were previously sentenced in this case. Jesus Manuel Soto Quihui was sentenced to 60 months in prison, and Diego Nunez-Aispuri and Ivan Manuel Higuera Torres both received sentences of 46 months. 

According to court documents, in November 2023, investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) identified Anaya-Valencia as a member of a drug trafficking organization operating in Phoenix, Arizona. On January 23, 2024, while conducting surveillance on Anaya-Valencia, agents watched as Higuero Torres arrived in a red Ford F-150 pickup truck to meet with Anaya-Valencia. Anaya-Valencia initially inspected the back seat of the truck, and then Nunez-Aispuro loaded two plastic containers and one cardboard box out of the back seat of the Ford F-150 into the cargo area of a Chevrolet Tahoe, which Soto Quihui was driving.

After Nunez-Aispuro completed the transfer, all four defendants left in various vehicles, and were thereafter arrested by law enforcement. Agents searched the Chevrolet Tahoe and inside the plastic containers and cardboard box found and seized approximately 76 kilograms (167 pounds) of methamphetamine. Agents also seized two firearms: one inside the glove compartment of Anaya-Valencia’s vehicle, and a second in the waistband of Soto Quihui.

According to records, Anaya-Valencia has twelve prior removals from the United States and nine previous criminal immigration convictions. He also has a prior felony conviction for Conspiracy to Commit Possession of Dangerous Drugs for Sale. At the time he was arrested in this case, Anaya-Valencia was on supervised release, and he was sentenced to an additional 6 months in prison as part of the disposition in that case.

The DEA Phoenix East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force HIDTA conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart J. Zander and Travis L. Wheeler, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            24-CR-00255-01-PHX-KML; 19-CR-01081-PHX-KML
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-154_Anaya-Valencia, et al.

Photograph showing multiple cars parked and individual moving something from a red F-150 pickup truck to a black Chevrolet Tahoe.
Photograph of grey, plastic tubs containing packages of methamphetamine in yellow and white wrapping. Packages are marked with the letter "P."
Photograph of packages of methamphetamine wrapped in plastic wrap and other materials. Packages are stacked inside cardboard box.

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Contact

Public Affairs
Esther J. Winne
Telephone: (602) 514-7740
esther.winne@usdoj.gov

Updated September 25, 2025

Topic
Drug Trafficking
Press Release Number: 2025-154_Anaya-Valencia, et al