Arizona Man Sentenced for Heroin Haul in New Mexico

Sergio Marin Ambriz, 21, of Phoenix, Ariz., is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 46 months for trafficking more than four pounds of heroin through New Mexico. The conviction stems from a January 2016 DEA interdiction at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque, where agents seized 1.90 kilograms—4.18 pounds—of high-purity heroin hidden in a pair of jeans inside his luggage.

Ambriz was arrested on January 20, 2016, following a targeted investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The heroin, tightly wrapped in three bundles, was concealed in plain sight, tucked into clothing within his carry-on bag. The bust marked another flashpoint in the opioid crisis gripping New Mexico, where traffickers increasingly exploit transit hubs to move drugs across state lines.

He was initially charged via criminal complaint and later formally indicted on February 9, 2016, on a count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute in Bernalillo County. The charge carried significant weight under federal law, especially given the quantity involved—enough to fuel hundreds of lethal doses on the street.

On May 13, 2016, Ambriz pleaded guilty to a felony information admitting he transported the drugs from Phoenix to Albuquerque by bus, with plans to deliver them in Tulsa, Okla. His guilty plea confirmed his role as a courier in a larger drug network, a common profile in the DEA’s ongoing crackdown on organized heroin trafficking through the Southwest corridor.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, a multi-agency response launched in January 2015 to combat the opioid epidemic. HOPE unites federal prosecutors, law enforcement, public health officials, and community groups to reduce opioid-related deaths and dismantle trafficking operations.

With components spanning prevention, treatment, law enforcement, reentry, and strategic planning, HOPE’s enforcement arm—led by the U.S. Attorney’s Organized Crime Section and the DEA—has prioritized high-impact cases like Ambriz’s. His sentence includes three years of supervised release post-incarceration, a reminder that the feds are watching. For more on the initiative, visit HopeInitiativeNM.org.

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