NM organized crime commission seeks budget boost to expand drug trafficking work

SANTA FE — A New Mexico Organized Crime Commission that was revived last year after being dormant for decades is asking lawmakers for a $4.5 million special appropriation to expand its work.

The commission, which is led by Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, released its annual report this week in which it also said it would push for changes to state human trafficking and firearm laws.

Much of the commission’s work over the last year was targeted at drug trafficking, as agents working with the commission determined most fentanyl flows into New Mexico from Arizona and Texas, not from across the state’s southern border with Mexico.

That conclusion was drawn, in part, due to the fact that fentanyl pill prices were higher in Las Cruces and Lordsburg than they were in places like Albuquerque, Grants and Española.

The report also said Albuquerque serves as a key fentanyl distribution hub, due to its location at the intersection of two interstate highways.

Fentanyl has been the driving factor behind a recent increase in New Mexico drug overdoses, as 56% of the state’s overdose-related deaths were caused by fentanyl in 2021, according to state Department of Health data.

Overall, the number of fentanyl overdose deaths jumped from 304 in 2020 to 574 the following year.

Meanwhile, agents with the Organized Crime Commission have also opened investigations into the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, helped shut down 10 massage parlors connected with sex trafficking and assisted other law enforcement agencies in raiding illegal cannabis dispensaries.

In addition, the commission helped lead an operation targeting human trafficking in southern New Mexico that resulted in more than 90 migrants being rescued and at least 16 individuals arrested on state-level charges.

“Our success shows what we can accomplish when law enforcement agencies work together to combat organized crime,” Bregman said in a statement.

Crime commission rose from the ashes

The Organized Crime Commission was created by former Gov. Bruce King in 1973 as a way for law enforcement agencies to collaborate in the fight against large crime rings.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who reconstituted the Organized Crime Commission last year and tasked Bregman with leading it, supported the $4.5 million budget request in her spending plan released this month.

If approved by lawmakers during the upcoming 60-day legislative session, it would pay for increased staffing, new vehicles and travel expenses over the next two years.

Lujan Grisham, in her budget recommendation, also endorsed an additional $2 million in recurring funding for investigations and prosecutions.

“Criminal organizations have infiltrated our communities, but with the right strategy and appropriate resources, we can continue to disrupt their operations and make New Mexico safer for all,” the Democratic governor said.

As for the suggested law changes, the commission’s report asks lawmakers to expand the definition of human trafficking and reduce the need for victims to testify in order to prosecute cases.

Focus on drug trafficking

While fentanyl trafficking is expected to be a big topic of debate during the upcoming session, the drug isn’t the only one on the Organized Crime Commission’s radar.

Cannabis remains a major source of income for organized crime syndicates from Mexico and China, the group’s report found, despite being legalized for adult use in New Mexico in April 2023.

Specifically, some criminal groups exploit regulatory loopholes in the state’s cannabis industry and might be using commercial dispensaries as fronts to launder millions of dollars to help fund their operations, according to the Organized Crime Commission.

In an October operation, agents partnered with other agencies to raid an illicit cannabis farm near Kirtland. Roughly 160,000 pounds of marijuana were eventually destroyed in the operation, and an investigation linked the farm to a massage parlor in nearby Farmington.