Kassandra Lee Perales, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2023

Kassandra Lee Perales, a 33-year-old resident of Carlsbad, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to a litany of federal drug offenses in connection with a 2023 joint enforcement operation in the city.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, Perales pleaded guilty on February 6, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine and 400 grams and more of fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, attempt to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, attempt to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine.

Perales is accused of traveling from Carlsbad to El Paso on April 3, 2023, to pick up 1,974 net grams of cocaine and 501.4 net grams of pure meth that had been transported from Mexico into the United States the day before. Unbeknownst to Perales, the drugs had been seized by law enforcement the day before.

On April 10, 2023, Perales met with another individual and took possession of 893.3 net grams of pure meth and 657 net grams of fentanyl pills with the intent of transporting them to North Dakota to sell. Perales was stopped by officers on April 11, 2023, when they departed Carlsbad for North Dakota, and the drugs were seized.

Perales faces between 10 years and life in prison followed by a term of supervised release at sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Renee L. Camacho and Devon Aragon-Martinez are prosecuting the case.

The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, with enforcement assistance from the United States Marshal Service, Carlsbad Police Department, Eddy County Sheriff’s Department, Roswell Police Department, Chaves County Drug Task Force, DEA Airwing, and Customs and Border Patrol.

Jared Michael Moore, a 42-year-old resident of Carlsbad, New Mexico, also pleaded guilty to federal drug offenses in connection with the operation. Moore pleaded guilty on February 27, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

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