David Torres-Arrellanes, Drug Trafficking, New Mexico 2024

David Torres-Arrellanes, 29, a Mexican national living illegally in the U.S., was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a sprawling drug trafficking ring based in Lea County, New Mexico. The conviction, handed down in Las Cruces federal court, stems from charges that he used a telephone to coordinate the movement of $10,000 in drug proceeds and for illegally reentering the United States after prior deportation.

Torres-Arrellanes was one of eight defendants named in a 20-count indictment unsealed in July 2017, targeting a powerful drug network allegedly run by Jose Raul Mendivil-Berrelleza, 34, a Mexican national from Hobbs. Federal investigators say the organization imported multi-kilogram shipments of methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico through Arizona into southeastern New Mexico. The DEA-led probe, designated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), seized 13 kilograms of pure meth, 1.45 kilograms of cocaine, a loaded firearm, and $19,000 in cash.

Count 1 of the indictment charged all eight defendants with conspiracy to traffic meth and cocaine between November 2016 and July 2017. Count 2 targeted Mendivil-Berrelleza and Roberto Rendon-Duran, 70, of Yuma, Arizona, with international money laundering. Counts 3 through 6 dealt with specific narcotics shipments, while Counts 7 through 20 focused on use of communication devices—cell phones used to arrange pickups, drop-offs, and payments. Torres-Arrellanes was charged in two of these counts.

On October 25, 2017, Torres-Arrellanes pleaded guilty to reentry of a removed alien and to using a phone to facilitate drug trafficking. He admitted to a May 24, 2017 call instructing a courier to collect $10,000 in drug cash. He also acknowledged being deported on May 22, 2014, and having no legal right to reenter the country when arrested by federal agents in Arizona on August 2, 2017.

Four co-defendants have already entered guilty pleas. Jeremy W. Gough, 41, of Hobbs, was sentenced to 120 months in prison plus five years of supervised release. Carlos Espinoza-Perez, 28, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty January 22, 2018. Reco Curry, 38, also of Hobbs, pleaded November 27, 2017. Rendon-Duran entered his plea October 31, 2017. Two others have pleaded not guilty and await trial, while fugitive Miguel Angel Luna-Arredondo remains at large.

This investigation was conducted by the DEA and HSI Las Cruces offices, the Lea County Drug Task Force (HIDTA Region 6), with support from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office and the Hobbs Police Department. The case underscores the federal crackdown on transnational trafficking cells exploiting Southwest border vulnerabilities. Torres-Arrellanes will face mandatory deportation upon completing his sentence.

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