The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona has announced a successful enforcement operation conducted by Mexico's Attorney General’s Office, Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), in Nogales, Sonora. This operation targeted a transnational drug trafficking organization operating along the U.S.-Mexico border. The efforts led to the arrest of two individuals in Mexico, including Heriberto Jacobo Perez, identified as the leader of the organization, and Jesus Bernardo Rodriguez. Authorities also seized vehicles, buildings, firearms, currency, fentanyl pills, and other controlled substances.

In addition to these arrests in Mexico, six individuals based in the United States have been indicted on drug trafficking charges. These individuals are Rafael Alonso Arriaga, Fernando Garcia-Ibarra, Socorro Rascon, Emmanuel Sotelo-Salazar, Jostan Nathanae Vega-Ochoa, and Rosa Elena Peralta-Marrufo. They were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 24, 2024. Notably, Sotelo-Salazar faces additional charges related to possessing and distributing a foreign pill press used to fabricate fake pills. Garcia-Ibarra and Vega-Ochoa remain at large. Another individual associated with this organization was apprehended on November 19, 2024; Eva Angelina De La Torre was caught attempting to smuggle fentanyl pills into the United States at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.

United States Attorney Gary Restaino emphasized the importance of international collaboration in combating transnational crime: “Dismantling transnational crime requires cross-border cooperation,” he stated. “This is simply tremendous work by career civil servants with the Department of Justice in coordinating efforts with Mexican prosecutors to take down this criminal organization on both sides of the border.”

This initiative forms part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at identifying and dismantling high-level criminal organizations that pose threats to the United States through a coordinated multi-agency approach driven by intelligence.

The investigation within U.S. borders was spearheaded by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - Nogales alongside Homeland Security Investigations – Nogales, United States Marshals Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Crucial support came from DEA-Mexico City and FGR’s Agencia de Investigación Criminal which facilitated coordination between American and Mexican law enforcement agencies.

The effort received funding from the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs while valuable assistance was provided by Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance Training.

The prosecution against these seven individuals is being handled by The United States Attorney’s Office District Of Arizona Tucson under case number CR-24-04681-TUC-JGZ.