LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Patricia Kay Portillo, 54, of Carrizozo, New Mexico, will spend the next 46 months behind bars after being sentenced today in federal court for her role in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking operation. Following her prison term, Portillo will face three years of supervised release, a slap on the wrist for peddling poison in our communities.
Portillo was one of 34 individuals snared in an 18-month investigation that began in May 2014, sparked by a surge in violent crime on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. The DEA and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) zeroed in on drug trafficking organizations flooding the Reservation with meth, eventually uncovering two additional supply sources in southeastern New Mexico. Eighteen defendants faced federal charges, including five members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe and thirteen non-Natives, all detailed in six federal indictments and a criminal complaint.
This wasn’t just a local bust; the investigation was escalated in August 2014, becoming part of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. OCDETF threw the full weight of multiple federal agencies – and their local counterparts – at dismantling these networks. Notably, this operation utilized electronic surveillance, including wiretaps, a rare move in Indian Country. Investigators seized over ten kilograms of methamphetamine during the course of the investigation, a testament to the scale of the operation.
Portillo’s arrest came in December 2015, following an indictment alleging conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine in Otero County on August 23, 2015. She was also charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on October 6, 2015, and using a communication device to facilitate her crimes on September 4, 2015. On May 13, 2016, Portillo admitted guilt to possession with intent to distribute, confessing to having 41 grams of pure methamphetamine concealed on her person on October 6th, intended for street-level distribution.
So far, seventeen of the eighteen federal defendants have pleaded guilty, leaving only one still claiming innocence. Remember, an indictment is not proof of guilt. But for Portillo, the game is over. She’s trading the New Mexico desert for a federal prison cell, and rightfully so.
The investigation was a collaborative effort led by the DEA’s Las Cruces office, the BIA’s District IV Office of Justice Services (Mescalero Agency), the BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement, the Mescalero Tribal Police Department, the Hatch Police Department, the FBI, and the Lea County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Terri J. Abernathy and Clara Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office, alongside Mescalero Tribal Prosecutor Melissa Chavez, secured the conviction and sentencing.
Related Federal Cases
- Farmington Meth Dealer Brandon Smith Gets 5 Years · New Mexico
- El Paso Narc King Alejandro Carrillo Gets 46-Month Meth Sentence · Colorado
- Meth Kingpin Pirpich Gets 15 Years · New Mexico
- Meth Mule Sandoval Gets 5 Years · New Mexico
- Raton Woman Gets 66-Month Sentence for Heroin & Meth Trafficking · New Mexico
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News