Roswell Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Conviction on Federal Firearms and Drug Trafficking Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Israel Luna, 38, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on firearms and methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Luna was arrested on Sept. 28, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime on Sept. 24, 2015, in Chaves County, N.M.  According to the complaint, on Sept. 24, 2015, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant on Luna’s residence and seized approximately 7.75 ounces of methamphetamine, $5,726 in cash, drug paraphernalia and a firearm. 

On March 8, 2016, Luna pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  In entering the guilty plea, Luna admitted that on Sept. 24, 2015, agents found a firearm and approximately 217 grams of methamphetamine from a safe in his bedroom.  Luna further admitted that he used the firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI and the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (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.