El Paso, Texas, Man Facing Federal Drug Trafficking Charge in New Mexico Following Seizure of 41 Pounds of Cocaine

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Gerry Billy Olivas, 39, of El Paso, Texas, with a cocaine trafficking offense after Olivas waived a preliminary hearing.  Olivas was remanded into custody pending trial.

Olivas was arrested on Aug. 3, 2016, on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed approximately 18.8 kilograms (41.44 pounds) of cocaine in Otero County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Olivas was arrested on Aug. 3, 2016, after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint south of Alamogordo, N.M., allegedly seized approximately 16.2 kilograms (35.71 pounds) of cocaine from Olivas’ vehicle.  The agents also seized approximately 2.6 kilograms (5.73 pounds) of cocaine from a storage unit located in El Paso that was allegedly owned by Olivas. 

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Olivas faces a statutory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Alamogordo station of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of the DEA.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brock Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.