ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Johnathon Jacob Rios, 48, of El Paso, Texas, is headed to federal prison after receiving a 33-month sentence today for trafficking heroin into New Mexico. Rios, caught red-handed with nearly a kilogram of the deadly drug, will also serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.
The bust went down in June 2016 at the Albuquerque Greyhound Bus Station. DEA agents, conducting an interdiction investigation, seized approximately 788.10 grams of heroin cleverly concealed under Rios’ clothes. It wasn’t a sophisticated operation, but it was enough to land him in deep trouble.
Rios was formally indicted on July 12, 2016, charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute on June 17, 2016, in Bernalillo County. He didn’t fight it. On December 1, 2016, he pled guilty to a felony information, admitting he’d been transporting the heroin from Phoenix, Arizona, using the Greyhound as his pipeline.
This case wasn’t just about one man and one shipment. It’s part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, launched in January 2015. The HOPE Initiative, a partnership between the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, is a direct response to the opioid epidemic tearing apart communities across the nation, and particularly devastating New Mexico.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez, who prosecuted the case, emphasized the broader scope of the HOPE Initiative. It’s a five-pronged attack – prevention, treatment, law enforcement, reentry, and strategic planning – aimed at choking off the supply of heroin and opioid painkillers while simultaneously addressing the addiction crisis. The DEA’s Albuquerque office spearheaded the investigation.
The HOPE Initiative isn’t just about locking up dealers like Rios. It’s about tackling the opioid epidemic on all fronts. But make no mistake: the law enforcement component, led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA, is focused on putting major players out of business. You can learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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