ALBUQUERQUE – Officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 335 pounds of methamphetamine and arrested two Mexican nationals during two border inspections at ports of entry in New Mexico last week announced U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson of New Mexico, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jack P. Staton of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, and Director of Field Operations Hector A. Mancha of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, El Paso Field Office.
CBP officers arrested Conception Rosas-Villafuerte, 30, on June 6, 2018, after seizing approximately 73.16 kilograms (161 pounds) of methamphetamine allegedly concealed in the tires of Rosas-Villafuerte’s vehicle. According to the criminal complaint, the agents allegedly found the methamphetamine during an inspection at the U.S. Port of Entry in Santa Teresa in Dona Ana County, N.M.
CBP officers arrested Jose Alfonso Zuniga-Barraza, 38, on June 8, 2018, after the officers seized approximately 79.4 kilograms (174.5 pounds) of methamphetamine allegedly concealed in Zuniga-Barraza’s vehicle while conducting an inspection at the U.S. Port of Entry in Antelope Wells in Hidalgo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, the officers allegedly found approximately 150 bundles of methamphetamine concealed throughout Zuniga-Barraza’s vehicle.
Both men made their initial appearances in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M. Rosas-Villafuerte made his initial appearance on June 8, 2018, and Zuniga-Barraza made his initial appearance on June 11, 2018. Both men remain in federal custody pending preliminary hearings and detention hearings, which are scheduled for June 13, 2018 and June 14, 2018, respectively.
If convicted of the charges against them, each man faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty 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.
The two cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin C. Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Las Cruces Branch Office.
Information from Department of Justice