Sacramento Kingpin Gets 9 Years for Fentanyl Flood

SACRAMENTO, CA – Rosario Zamora Rojo, 41, of Sacramento, is headed to federal prison for nine years after being convicted of flooding Northern California with deadly fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd handed down the sentence Thursday, following a dogged investigation by multiple federal agencies. Acting U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez announced the conviction, a rare win in the escalating war against fentanyl distribution.

Court documents paint a grim picture of Zamora Rojo as a key supplier for a large-scale drug trafficking organization. From May 2019 to January 2021, the group allegedly imported tens of thousands of counterfeit oxycodone “M-30” pills laced with fentanyl directly from Mexico. These pills, deceptively resembling legitimate medication, were then pushed onto the streets of Northern California and beyond. Zamora Rojo wasn’t just moving pills; in November 2020, he supplied a full pound of methamphetamine to Jose Lopez-Zamora, a leader within the organization, which was later seized by law enforcement.

In a brazen attempt to evade capture, Zamora Rojo fled to Mexico after the methamphetamine delivery. But his escape was short-lived. He continued to operate, supplying thousands of fentanyl-laced M-30 pills in December 2020 and granting the organization access to a Sacramento storage unit. That storage unit proved to be his downfall. A subsequent search revealed a stash of over 13,000 fentanyl M-30 pills, along with methamphetamine, heroin, and six firearms – a chilling testament to the scope of the operation.

Zamora Rojo isn’t the only one facing justice. Fourteen other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty, with ten receiving prison sentences ranging from 19 months to a staggering 27 years. Several others await sentencing: Jose Aguilar Saucedo (July 28, 2025), Luis Lopez Zamora and Sandro Escobedo (August 2025), Leonardo Flores Beltran (October 2025), and Erika Gabriela Zamora Rojo (December 2025). The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs played a critical role in securing the extradition of Luis Lopez Zamora from Mexico.

This case was a massive undertaking, spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and bolstered by assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and numerous local law enforcement agencies including the Yuba-Sutter Narcotic and Gang Enforcement Task Force (NET 5), the California Highway Patrol, and several city police departments. The investigation fell under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a program designed to dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer prosecuted the case. The sentence sends a clear message: those who profit from the distribution of fentanyl, and contribute to the opioid crisis that’s ravaging communities, will be held accountable. The full details of the OCDETF program can be found at Justice.gov/OCDETF. This conviction, while significant, is just one battle in a much larger war against the relentless flow of illicit drugs into the United States.

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