Johnathon Jacob Rios, Heroin Trafficking, New Mexico 2016

State: New Mexico
Category: Drug Trafficking
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/el-paso-man-sentenced-federal-heroin-trafficking-conviction-new-mexico" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – A 48-year-old man from El Paso, Texas, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in a heroin trafficking operation in New Mexico.

Johnathon Jacob Rios was arrested in June 2016 and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute after law enforcement seized approximately 788.10 grams of heroin from him during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque.

Rios was subsequently indicted on July 12, 2016, and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute on June 17, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

On Dec. 1, 2016, Rios pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Rios admitted transporting 788.1 grams of heroin from Phoenix, Ariz., to Albuquerque on a Greyhound bus by concealing the heroin under his clothes.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez prosecuted this case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.

The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities.

Rios’ sentence is the result of a multi-agency effort to combat heroin trafficking in New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners.