Monica Vega, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2017

ALBUQUERQUE —

A 35-year-old Roswell woman has pleaded guilty to federal methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Monica Vega, 35, of Roswell, N.M., entered the guilty plea today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges. Her plea agreement recommends a 10-year prison sentence followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Vega was arrested on Nov. 17, 2017, on a three-count indictment charging her with methamphetamine trafficking and firearms offenses. The indictment charged Vega with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on April 20, 2017, and Oct. 20, 2017, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on April 20, 2017. According to the indictment, Vega committed the crimes in Chaves County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Vega pleaded guilty to a two-count felony information charging her with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Vega admitted that on April 20, 2017, law enforcement agents seized approximately 57.8 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and $1,083 while executing a search warrant at her residence. Vega also admitted that on Oct. 19, 2017, New Mexico State Police officers seized approximately 33.6 grams of methamphetamine from her when they arrested her on a traffic violation. Vega acknowledged that she planned to distribute the methamphetamine to others for money.

Vega has been in federal custody since her arrest and remains detained pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the Roswell Police Department, New Mexico State Police, and the HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin C. Segovia and John Balla of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.

The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

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