NEW MEXICO
After an 18-month investigation, law enforcement charged 34 people with methamphetamine trafficking on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, officials announced today.
More than 22 pounds of methamphetamine were seized during the course of the investigation, officials said.
An investigation began in May 2014 in response to an increase in violent crime by methamphetamine users on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, officials said.
The investigation initially targeted a drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Lorenzo Saenz, a member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, which distributed methamphetamine within the Reservation.
It later expanded to include two other drug trafficking organizations in southern New Mexico that allegedly served as sources of supply for the methamphetamine distributed within the reservation, officials said.
This investigation by Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force is the first time the Task Force used electronic wiretaps in Indian Country, officials said.
“Methamphetamine has a disproportionate devastating impact on tribal communities, accounting for up to 40 percent of violent crime on reservations,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico. “This investigation is an example of the Justice Department’s commitment to working with Tribal Governments to improve the safety of Native communities and increase awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine use.”
President Danny Breuninger of the Mescalero Apache Tribe said: “Before and since taking Office as the President of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, I heard complaints from our Tribal Members and saw the pain and suffering caused by illegal drug use and sales on our Reservation. Many of our young people are being poisoned by methamphetamine and lives are being shattered by senseless drug-related injuries and deaths. As the leader of my Tribe, it is my job to do all I can to preserve the safety and welfare of our people and to preserve our culture, traditions and customs.
Adding, “The great majority of our Tribal Members are great people who work hard every day to support their families and raise their children with the values and traditions that have been passed down generation after generation. But continuing to do this is very hard when our Tribal Members’ lives are being torn apart by illegal drug use.”
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.