Albuquerque, NM – A Mexican national has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking operation in northwestern New Mexico.
Ernesto Felix, 52, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. He will be deported following his prison sentence, according to federal authorities.
Felix was one of 29 individuals charged in February 2014, with drug trafficking offenses as part of a multi-agency investigation targeting drug trafficking in the area. The investigation, dubbed ‘Operation Brown Ice,’ was a year-long probe that initially targeted a methamphetamine trafficking organization led by Isaac Anaya.
Thirteen of the defendants, including Anaya, 31, of Farmington, were charged in a 15-count federal indictment alleging a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in San Juan County from May 2013 through September 2013. The remaining 16 defendants were charged with state drug trafficking and firearms offenses based on criminal complaints.
During the course of the investigation, officers seized approximately five pounds of methamphetamine and five firearms. The law enforcement operation on February 24, 2014, included the execution of 11 federal search warrants at various residences and businesses in San Juan County.
Felix pled guilty to Count 4 of the indictment and admitted to transporting approximately 891 grams of methamphetamine from Arizona to New Mexico on July 31, 2013. He admitted that he was paid to transport the drugs. His co-defendant, Wesley Contreras, 20, of Farmington, has entered a not guilty plea to the indictment.
The federal and state cases filed as a result of Operation ‘Brown Ice’ were investigated by the HSI office in Albuquerque, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force, Bloomfield Police Department, Farmington Police Department, and Aztec Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reeve L. Swainston and Shana B. Long are prosecuting the federal case, and Assistant District Attorney David Cowen of the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the state cases.
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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