By KRWG News
Las Cruces, NM – LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRWG) A federal grand jury has indicted 17 alleged members of a methamphetamine trafficking organization operating in southeastern New Mexico this year.
Authorities say three other people have been charged with methamphetamine trafficking offenses in criminal complaints also filed Tuesday.
They say 13 of the 20 defendants were arrested during a multi-agency enforcement operation led by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Most will remain in federal custody pending detention hearings that will be held in the federal courthouse in Las Cruces later this week.
The indictment alleges that the 17 defendants engaged in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute meth from August through Nov. 10.
According to the indictment, members of the conspiracy allegedly smuggled large quantities of methamphetamine from El Paso, Texas, to Artesia, N.M.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. KRWG