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Methamphetamine Trafficking Ring Busted in Henderson County
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In a major blow to the methamphetamine trade in Henderson County, the leader and three co-conspirators of a methamphetamine trafficking ring have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 57 months to 70 months, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
The ring’s leader, Maria Del Ruiz-Zazueta, 45, of Hendersonville, and her co-conspirators, Stephanie Alvarenga, 24, of Hendersonville, Daniel Alfaro, 24, of Laurel Park, and Antonio Barbosa, 34, of Hendersonville, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. on various charges related to their involvement in the methamphetamine trafficking ring.
According to court records, the ring was responsible for distributing significant quantities of methamphetamine in Henderson County and surrounding areas from May 2014 to May 2015. Ruiz-Zazueta was the leader of the ring and was assisted by her daughter, Alvarenga, in supplying the methamphetamine to their co-conspirators. Solano and Alfaro were methamphetamine traffickers and acted as runners for Ruiz-Zazueta and Alvarenga.
On May 4, 2015, law enforcement in Oklahoma conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Alvarenga was a passenger. During the stop, police seized nearly 10 pounds of methamphetamine from a backpack located in the trunk of the car.
The investigation was handled by the DEA and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Asheville is in charge of the prosecution. The four defendants are currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
The sentences handed down by Judge Cogburn include: Maria Del Ruiz-Zazueta, 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Stephanie Alvarenga, 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Daniel Alfaro, 70 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release; and Antonio Barbosa, 63 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
The Henderson County methamphetamine trafficking ring is just one of many cases being prosecuted in the Western District of North Carolina. The U.S. Attorney’s office is committed to bringing those responsible for the distribution of methamphetamine to justice.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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