Eighty-Four Defendants Charged with Drug Trafficking Offenses as a Result of DEA "MET" Operation in Roswell, New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE -- Fifty-seven Roswell residents have been charged with federal drug trafficking offenses in 45 federal indictments and six federal criminal complaints that were unsealed yesterday. Another 27 Roswell residents have been charged with state drug trafficking offenses in state criminal complaints. The charges against the 84 defendants are the result of an intensive three-month long investigation led by a Mobile Enforcement Team (MET) from the DEAs El Paso Division Office in conjunction with Chaves County Metro Narcotics HIDTA Task Force. Most of the 84 defendants were arrested yesterday in a massive law enforcement operation involving more than a hundred and fifty federal, state and local law enforcement officers. Officers also executed six federal search warrants at five residences and one business in Roswell during yesterdays operation. As of early this morning, 49 of the 57 federal defendants and 17 of the 27 state defendants were in custody. Eight federal defendants and ten state defendants have yet to be arrested and are considered fugitives. Many of the defendants are charged with distributing methamphetamine. Others are charged with distributing cocaine, heroin, marijuana and prescription drugs. The defendants made their initial court appearances in Roswell yesterday. The federal defendants remain in custody pending detention hearings that will be held in federal court in Las Cruces next week. The DEAs MET program was created in 1995 in response to violent drug-trafficking organizations in towns and cities across the nation. MET teams are deployed on a temporary basis to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement in the disruption or dismantlement of violent drug trafficking. There have been 14 MET deployments in New Mexico since the inception of the program. The MET deployment in Roswell was initiated based on a request from U.S. Attorney Gonzales and the Roswell Police Department to address a surge in violent criminal street gang activity directly associated with drug trafficking in Chaves County. During the METs three-month investigation, agents made approximately 60 undercover drug buys and executed four federal search warrants in addition to the search warrants that were executed yesterday. In addition, the agents seized 14 firearms, including four AK-47 rifles, four AR-15 rifles, and six semi-automatic handguns, during the investigation. Prior to yesterdays operation, 2,446 gross grams of methamphetamine, 861 gross grams of cocaine, 338 gross grams of heroin, 133 gross grams of marijuana and pharmaceutical narcotics were obtained through undercover drug purchases and seizures. During yesterdays operation, agents seized an additional five firearms including a shotgun, five vehicles, and quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and pharmaceutical narcotics. Agents and officers from the following law enforcement agencies supported the DEA MET and Chaves County Metro Narcotics HIDTA Task Force during yesterdays law enforcement operation: the Roswell Police Department, the Chaves County Sheriffs Office, the Lea County Region VI Task Force, the Carlsbad Police Department, the Eddy County Sheriffs Office, the Pecos Valley Task Force, the New Mexico State Police, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and U.S. Border Patrol. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The DEA El Paso Division encourages parents, and their children to visit the following interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov