Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Jose Luis Aguilar Saucedo, a 26-year-old resident of Sacramento, has been sentenced to seven years and six months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Monday, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez.
Court documents state that Aguilar Saucedo distributed hundreds of fentanyl pills designed to resemble prescription “M-30” oxycodone pills. These transactions took place with a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on three separate occasions in March, April, and August 2020.
The case involved multiple defendants; fifteen co-defendants have pleaded guilty, and eleven have already received prison sentences ranging from 19 months to 27 years. Sentencing hearings for Luis Lopez Zamora, Leonardo Flores Beltran, Sandro Escobedo, and Erika Gabriela Zamora Rojo are scheduled between August and December 2025.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA with support from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, several local law enforcement agencies including NET 5 and BINTF task forces as well as police departments from Sacramento County and surrounding areas. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs collaborated with Mexican authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Luis Lopez Zamora from Mexico.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer is prosecuting this case.
This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at disrupting high-level criminal organizations through coordinated efforts across agencies using intelligence-led strategies. More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
"This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Yuba-Sutter Narcotic and Gang Enforcement Task Force (NET 5), the California Highway Patrol, the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF), the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, the Sacramento Police Department, the Roseville Police Department, the Manteca Police Department, the Yuba City Police Department, and the West Sacramento Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Mexican authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Luis Lopez Zamora to the United States from Mexico." — Acting U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez
"OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven multi-agency approach." — Justice.gov/OCDETF
