ARIZONA
A woman from Culiacan, Mexico was convicted after a seven-day jury trial for her role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy to transport thousands of kilograms of cocaine and dozens of pounds of methamphetamine into the U.S., officials announced Thursday.
Luz Irene Fajardo Campos, aka “La Comadre,” “La Madrina,” and “La Doña,” was convicted of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and to manufacture and/or distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and elsewhere, knowing or intending that these substances would be unlawfully imported into the United States.
Sentencing for the defendant is set for March 26.
According to the evidence introduced at trial, Fajardo Campos ran a drug trafficking organization with her adult children that was aligned with the Sinaloa cartel.
She sourced cocaine directly from Colombia, employed pilots, and brokered the purchase of jets to fly the cocaine to Central America and Mexico, according to officials.
She partnered with other traffickers in the Sinaloa cartel and her children for further distribution of the cocaine into the United States.
She also oversaw the importation of precursor chemicals into Mexico, which she processed into methamphetamine at a laboratory located in the desert outside Hermosillo, Mexico.
She distributed this methamphetamine in Tucson, Arizona, and Jackson, Mississippi, among other locations, officials stated.
“Yesterday’s verdict clearly shows that no matter where drug traffickers operate, DEA agents will relentlessly pursue those whose actions wreak havoc on American communities,” said Phoenix Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Apolonio Ruiz Jr. “The Fajardo Campos conviction should send a message to drug traffickers throughout the world that DEA is committed to finding those who profit from Americans suffering from addiction.”
DOJ NOTED:
The case was investigated by DEA’s Tucson, Arizona Office and DEA’s Mexico City Country Office.
Trial Attorneys Cole Radovich, Anthony Aminoff and Kaitlin Sahni, and paralegal Marilu Vargas of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) prosecuted this case, with significant assistance provided by the NDDS Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia, the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, and the Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations.