Mexican National Indicted for Drug Crimes in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A Mexican national, who has been living in the United States illegally, has been indicted by a federal grand jury today for drug crimes after law enforcement seized over 15,000 fentanyl pills and heroin.

Alfredo Tovar-Ruiz, 26, of Mexico, who has been living in West Valley City, Utah, was charged by complaint August 22, 2025.  

According to court documents, since July 2025, detectives with the Davis Metro Narcotics Strike Force have been investigating a drug trafficking organization. On August 20, 2025, detectives stopped a male, later identified as Tovar-Ruiz, in a parking lot as he approached a vehicle that belonged to the drug trafficking organization. Tovar-Ruiz and the vehicle were searched pursuant to a search warrant. Detectives seized 84 grams of fentanyl pills (approximately 840 pills), and 29 grams of heroin. During a subsequent search of Tovar-Ruiz’s residence in West Valley City, detectives seized an additional 1,930 grams of heroin and 1,478 grams of fentanyl pills (approximately 14,780 pills). In total, law enforcement seized approximately 15,620 fentanyl pills and 1,959 grams of heroin.

Tovar-Ruiz is charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for September 2, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the Davis Metro Narcotics Strike Force and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter Reichman of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.