ARIZONA
Seven members and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel have been sentenced to prison for their role in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, officials announced this week.
The following members and associates were sentenced:
- Hector Alejandro Apodaca-Alvarez, 53, of Somerton, Arizona
- Mark Anthony Roque Bustamante, 33, of Yuma, Arizona
- Jorge Moreno, 28, of San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico
- Jonathan Nicholas Chavez, 25, of Brawley, California
- Luis Tejada Velasquez, 37, of San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico
- Austin Toma Grupee, 43, of Providence, Rhode Island
- Jose Chavez Zaragoza, 38, of Yuma, Arizona
The defendants were arrested in the United States.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Drug Threat Assessment, the Sinaloa Cartel is at the heart of the fentanyl crisis.
The cartel has developed global supply chain networks and operate clandestine labs in Mexico where they manufacture these drugs and then utilize their vast distribution networks to transport the drugs into the United States.
Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced, killing 38,000 Americans in the first six months of 2023 alone.
Just one fentanyl pill can kill. Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially fatal dose and laboratory testing indicates seven out of 10 pills seized by the DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
“The significant sentences imposed by the court reflect the deadly nature of the crimes committed by Mexican cartel members in flooding our communities with fentanyl and other lethal drugs,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
“Guns and drugs are often linked, particularly when it comes to the cartels,” said Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
From June 2022 through May 2023, Apodaca-Alvarez, who was previously convicted of narcotics trafficking-related offenses in three federal districts prior to his arrest in this case, used the U.S. mail and his own trucking business to send tens of thousands of pressed fentanyl pills and kilogram-quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine to an undercover agent based in South Florida.
The undercover agent also conducted narcotic and monetary transactions with Apodaca-Alvarez and codefendants in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts. Apodaca-Alvarez told the undercover agent he was coordinating directly with members of the Sinaloa Cartel to facilitate the large-scale distribution of narcotics and stated that the potency of the pressed fentanyl pills that he sold “was dropping people everywhere.” Apodaca-Alvarez worked directly with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel.
During the conspiracy, Apodaca-Alvarez coordinated with the remaining codefendants to assist in distributing the controlled substances throughout the United States, including Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia.
Law enforcement officers identified Roque Bustamante, nicknamed the “Skittles Man,” due to his distribution of rainbow-colored fentanyl pills, as Apodaca-Alvarez’s primary source of supply.
In recorded conversations, Apodaca-Alvarez and Roque Bustamante inquired if the undercover agent would supply them with firearms, including 50-caliber high-powered rifles to be smuggled into Mexico.
Apodaca-Alvarez was ultimately arrested in South Florida while delivering 16 kilograms of fentanyl and 2 kilograms of cocaine to the undercover agent during an undercover operation. Moreno was present with Apodaca-Alvarez during the arrest operation.
In total, law enforcement seized approximately 46 pounds of pure fentanyl; 70 thousand rainbow-colored, pressed fentanyl pills; 3,000 M30 pressed fentanyl pills, blue in color; 243 pounds of crystal methamphetamine; two kilograms of cocaine; and 24 firearms (including 18 rifles and six pistols) related to this conspiracy.
On May 2, Roque Bustamante was sentenced to life in prison, Grupee was sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in prison, and Chavez was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
On March 21, Apodaca-Alvarez was sentenced to life in prison, Moreno to 10 years and one month and Zaragoza to three years and 11 months.
In addition, Apodaca-Alvarez agreed to forfeit his entire trucking business and Arizona-based residence.
The ATF Fort Lauderdale Field Division and other law enforcement agencies investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ajay J. Alexander, M. Catherine Koontz, and Brooke Latta for the Southern District of Florida and Assistant U.S. Attorney Addison Owen for the District of Arizona prosecuted the case.