ALBUQUERQUE – Mario A. Oros, 32, of Las Cruces, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces to methamphetamine trafficking charges.
Oros was arrested on Feb. 20, 2015, on an indictment charging him with distributing methamphetamine on Sept. 5, 2014 and Sept. 12, 2014, in Doña Ana County, N.M. The indictment also calls for Oros to forfeit $3,000.00, representing the amount of money he derived from the drug trafficking offenses.
During today’s proceedings, Oros pled guilty to a felony information charging him with two counts of distributing methamphetamine. Oros admitted that on Sept. 5, 2014, he sold approximately 28 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent for $1,000.00. He also admitted selling approximately 54 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent for $2,000.00on Sept. 12, 2014. Oros admitted committing these offenses in Mesilla Park, N.M.
At sentencing, Oros faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release. He will also be required forfeit $3,000.00. Oros remains detained pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police. 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.
Information from Department of Justice