Carlos Diaz, Heroin Trafficking, New Mexico 2016

Defendant Sentenced for Involvement in Sunland Park Heroin Ring

Carlos Diaz, 37, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his conviction on heroin trafficking charges related to a Sunland Park, New Mexico-based heroin trafficking ring.

The investigation, led by the DEA, targeted a heroin trafficking organization led by Raymundo Munoz, 69, of Sunland Park, N.M., that obtained its heroin from Juan Francisco Rivera, 60, of El Paso, Texas.

The indictment charged 10 members of the heroin trafficking ring with participation in a heroin trafficking conspiracy and a series of substantive heroin trafficking offenses. The indictment included 23 counts charging certain defendants with distributing heroin or possessing heroin with intent to distribute and six counts charging certain defendants with using communications devices to facilitate heroin trafficking crimes.

According to the indictment, Rivera routinely supplied Muñoz with heroin, in quantities ranging from two to nine ounces, which was smuggled by couriers into the United States across the international border in El Paso. Muñoz took the heroin to his Sunland Park residence where he distributed the drugs to others.

Diaz pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Diaz admitted that on May 13, 2016, he asked a male individual on the phone to obtain two ounces of heroin for Diaz from a source of supply in Mexico.

Other defendants previously entered guilty pleas in the case, including Alberto Lozano-Morales, who was sentenced to time served followed by one year of supervised release, and Juan Francisco Rivera, who faces a sentence of 108 months in prison. The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a nationwide program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

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