Rodolfo Rene Ley, Heroin Trafficking, New Mexico 2016

Defendant Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin Trafficking Charge

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Rodolfo Rene Ley, a 25-year-old man from Phoenix, Ariz., has pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin in New Mexico. Ley was arrested at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque on May 13, 2016, after authorities found approximately one kilogram of heroin in three clear plastic wrapped bundles under his clothing during an interdiction investigation.

Ley was subsequently indicted on May 25, 2016, and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute on May 13, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. During today’s proceedings, Ley pleaded guilty to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Ley admitted that he voluntarily consented to have a DEA agent search him at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque on May 13, 2016. During the search, the agent discovered oblong bundles containing heroin in Ley’s jeans.

Ley now faces a statutory mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA.

As part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva Fontanez is prosecuting the case. 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.

The HOPE Initiative has five components: prevention and education, treatment, law enforcement, reentry, and strategic planning. Its law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA, targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution.

The HOPE Initiative has been working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools, and other community stakeholders to protect communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.

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