Susana Ceballos, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2015

A Roswell woman has been sentenced to prison for her role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy.

Susana Ceballos, 36, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Ceballos is one of 41 individuals charged in September 2015, with drug trafficking offenses as a result of an eight-month multi-agency investigation by the FBI, the DEA, Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, Roswell Police Department, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police.

The investigation, which was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, initially targeted a drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Joseph Ray Mendiola, 35, of Roswell, that allegedly distributed methamphetamine in Chaves County.

Ceballos and 15 other federal defendants were charged in a 24-count indictment filed on September 22, 2015. Count 1 of the Indictment charged 15 of the 16 defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between June 2015 and July 2015.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers executed 14 federal search warrants for 10 residences in Roswell, one residence in Dexter, N.M., and three vehicles. During the execution of those search warrants, the officers seized approximately 5600 grams of methamphetamine, $35,960.00 in cash, and multiple firearms including two assault rifles.

Ceballos pled guilty to participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and to using a communication device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime on February 24, 2016.

To date, 12 of Ceballos’ co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing. Three co-defendants have yet to be arrested and are considered fugitives.

The federal cases were investigated by the Roswell office of FBI’s Albuquerque Division, the Las Cruces office of DEA, Roswell Police Department, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, the New Mexico State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy M. Castellano and John Balla are prosecuting the federal cases.

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 Sherriff’s Office.

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