Heriberto Lopez-Landeros, a 44-year-old resident of Avondale, Arizona, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Steven P. Logan following Lopez-Landeros's guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on August 5, 2024.

Lopez-Landeros led a drug trafficking organization based in Arizona that imported significant quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin from Mexico. These drugs were then distributed across the United States. To facilitate this operation, Lopez-Landeros recruited semi-truck drivers who transported the drugs concealed within their truck cabs. Over an investigation lasting a year and a half, authorities seized substantial amounts of drugs linked to Lopez-Landeros's organization: 83 kilograms of methamphetamine, 12 kilograms of fentanyl, and 645 grams of heroin.

The investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative. OCDETF aims to identify and dismantle major drug traffickers and criminal organizations threatening the United States through a coordinated approach involving federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Avondale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan McCarthy from the District of Arizona in Phoenix managed the prosecution.