DEA busts five-state drug trafficking organization, seizes 4 million fentanyl pills

From Albuquerque to Denver and as far north as Salem, Oregon, the fentanyl flowed in 2024 as agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration tracked what is being described as one of the largest fentanyl trafficking organizations in history.

The investigation became public Monday after a coordinated DEA takedown of locations in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Oregon, in which agents recovered more than 4 million fentanyl pills, more than $4.4 million in cash, 79 pounds of methamphetamine, along with heroin, cocaine and more than 41 weapons, according to federal records filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

The alleged leader of the organization, Heriberto Salazar Amaya, was picked up in Portland, Oregon, and at least five other defendants are being held in Albuquerque, where a grand jury issued a 12-count indictment against a total of 14 defendants. Charges include conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute and unlawful employment of an illegal alien.

“Defendants ran a continuing criminal enterprise ... and they did so across a large swath of the United States,” states a motion filed by prosecutors seeking to hold the defendants in custody pending trial. The motion, which included drug overdose charts from each of the five states, was granted for three defendants in Albuquerque on Wednesday. Other hearings are expected in the coming days.

“The nature and circumstances of the conspiracy are sobering. The destruction that occurred in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Colorado at the hands of the (Heriberto Salazar Amaya drug trafficking organization) mandate that defendants remain in custody pending trial,” the motion states. “Defendants terrorized five states while operating one of the largest fentanyl (drug trafficking organizations) in history.”

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Molzen in Albuquerque, defendants Cesar Acuna-Morena, Vincent Montoya, and David Altimirano Lopez pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Also charged in the April 24 indictment are Bruce Sedillo and David Anesi, who are also being held in custody.

The motion noted that several of the defendants “have direct ties to Mexico and are Mexican nationals.” But no further details were released Wednesday.

The DEA has been investigating the drug trafficking organization since 2024, using physical surveillance, undercover operations, vehicle trackers, financial analyses and wiretaps on defendants phones, court records state.

In its operation, federal prosecutors say, the organization received orders for drugs from customers and dispatched couriers to deliver the orders. The couriers followed daily schedules coordinated by the trafficking organization to make bulk deliveries across several metropolitan areas. The organization operated in Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, Salem, Oregon, and Layton, Utah.

During Monday’s search in Albuquerque, baggies of fentanyl pills were discovered in bins inside a Northeast Heights storage facility. Meanwhile, $300,000 in cash, 365,000 fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, cocaine and 39 weapons, including a high-powered sniper rifle, were seized at a residence associated with Montoya, according to federal court records.