Luis Rangel Arce Gets 87 Months for Meth Trafficking on Navajo Land

Luis Rangel Arce, a 45-year-old Mexican national unlawfully in the U.S., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 87 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The conviction stems from two controlled buys in January 2016, where Arce sold more than 118 grams of the drug to undercover agents in Shiprock.

Arce pleaded guilty on Aug. 16, 2016, admitting he distributed 63.17 grams of meth on Jan. 11 and 55.3 grams on Jan. 14, 2016. The crimes were part of a larger conspiracy involving eight San Juan County residents, including his brother Miguel Rangel Arce, 36, and Rogelio Santiago Quiroa-Valdez, also a Mexican national. All three were charged in a seven-count indictment filed in April 2016.

The investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force, targeted a surge in meth trafficking in the Shiprock area. Deemed an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation, it involved multiple search warrants executed in May 2016 at residences in Shiprock and Kirtland, N.M., yielding over two and a half pounds of meth, ten firearms, $1,600 in cash, and a vehicle.

Miguel Rangel Arce pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2016, to conspiracy to distribute between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of meth from Nov. 2015 to March 2016. He faces a mandatory minimum of ten years and up to life in prison. Quiroa-Valdez admitted to selling 85.5 grams of meth on Feb. 24, 2016, and faces five to 40 years at sentencing. Both remain in custody pending hearings.

The sweep netted five separate indictments. One defendant has already been sentenced; three others have entered guilty pleas and await sentencing. Two have pleaded not guilty and are set for trial. Federal authorities stress that all accused are presumed innocent unless convicted.

Luis Rangel Arce will be deported upon completing his 87-month sentence. The case underscores the federal crackdown on transnational drug networks exploiting tribal lands in northwestern New Mexico.