11 defendants arraigned in drug-trafficking ring involving UPS employees
TUCSON, Ariz. – A State Grand Jury indicted 11 individuals accused of shipping illegal drugs and contraband across the country through the United Parcel Service (UPS); collectively the defendants face 48 felony counts, including money laundering, transportation of marijuana for sale, transportation of narcotic drugs for sale, misconduct involving weapons, and illegally conducting an enterprise. These charges stem from a multiyear investigation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Tucson Police Department (TPD) officers who are part of the Counter Narcotics Alliance (CNA).
The investigation began in 2017 when HSI special agents and TPD officers discovered that UPS employees in the Tucson area were allegedly using the UPS distribution network to ship illegal drugs and other contraband. UPS employees Mario Arvisu Barcelo, Michael Anthony Castro, Gary Lamont Love, Thomas Alfred Mendoza, along with their non-employee associates, Victor Manuel Alexander Molina, Martin Octavio Siqueiros-Diaz, and Jonathan Sanchez Gallegos, were reportedly able to ship packages undetected across the country by using closed business accounts. Specifically, between November 2018 and June 2019, undercover officers shipped and received packages, supposedly containing illegal drugs and illegal drug proceeds, by routing them through the shipment center in Tucson.
As alleged in the indictment, in May 2019, law enforcement officers learned that marijuana had been shipped from Tucson, intended for delivery at a North Carolina destination. HSI agents interdicted the package in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the shipment purportedly contained 12.6 pounds of marijuana.
As part of their investigation, officers identified Abraham Felix-Navarro, Fernando Navarro-Figueroa, Raul Garcia Cordova, and Heriberto Martinez-Bojorquez as allegedly being involved in the manufacture and the sale of thousands of counterfeit THC vape pens.
In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began investigating an outbreak of lung injuries associated with e-cigarettes, or vaping, products. The CDC discovered that vape pens containing counterfeit THC were most commonly associated with lung injuries. As a result, the CDC recommends people should not use THC-containing e-cigarettes, or vaping products, particularly from informal sources like friends, family, or online dealers. More information here.
Assistant Attorney General Nanette Morrow is prosecuting this case. It was investigated by law enforcement offices from HSI and TPD assigned to CNA.
The names of the defendants indicted and their charges are listed below.
Copy of indictment here.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting this case.
Mario Arvisu Barcelo, 49
10 Counts of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Cocaine
13 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Transportation for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Marijuana
1 Count of Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Victor Manuel Alexander Molina, 32
3 Counts of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Cocaine
3 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Michael Anthony Castro, 34
4 Counts of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Cocaine
4 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Martin Octavio Siqueiros-Diaz, 31
7 Counts of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Cocaine
7 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Marijuana
1 Count of Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Jonathan Sanchez Gallegos, 26
1 Count of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Cocaine
3 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Marijuana
2 Counts of Attempted Transportation for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer a Narcotic Drug
1 Count of Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Gary Lamont Love, 40
3 Counts of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Cocaine
3 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of Marijuana
1 Count of Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Abraham Felix-Navarro, 27
1 Count of Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of a Narcotic Drug
6 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of a Narcotic Drug
3 Counts of Possession of a Narcotic Drug of Sale
2 Counts of Manufacture of a Narcotic Drug
2 Counts of Possession of Marijuana for Sale
2 Counts of Possession of Equipment or Chemicals, or Both, for the Purpose of Manufacturing a Narcotic Drug
1 Count of Misconduct Involving Weapons During the Commission of a Felony
1 Count of Misconduct Involving Weapons by a Prohibited Possessor
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Fernando Navarro-Figueroa, 32
1 Count of Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of a Narcotic Drug
6 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Attempted Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of a Narcotic Drug
3 Counts of Possession of a Narcotic Drug of Sale
2 Counts of Manufacture of a Narcotic Drug
2 Counts of Possession of Marijuana for Sale
2 Counts of Possession of Equipment or Chemicals, or Both, for the Purpose of Manufacturing a Narcotic Drug
Raul Garcia Cordova, 47
1 Count of Transport for Sale or Import into this State or Offer to Transport for Sale or Import into this State, Sell Transfer or Offer to Sell or Transfer of a Narcotic Drug
2 Counts of Possession of a Narcotic Drug of Sale
2 Counts of Manufacture of a Narcotic Drug
2 Counts of Possession of Marijuana for Sale
4 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
2 Counts of Possession of Equipment or Chemicals, or Both, for the Purpose of Manufacturing a Narcotic Drug
1 Count of Misconduct Involving Weapons During the Commission of a Felony
1 Count of Misconduct Involving Weapons by a Prohibited Possessor
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Thomas Alfred Mendoza, 47
1 Count of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
1 Count of Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in a Drug Related Transaction
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
Heriberto Martinez-Bojorquez, 24
3 Counts of Possession of a Narcotic Drug of Sale
2 Counts of Manufacture of a Narcotic Drug
2 Counts of Possession of Marijuana for Sale
4 Counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
2 Counts of Possession of Equipment or Chemicals, or Both, for the Purpose of Manufacturing a Narcotic Drug
1 Count of Misconduct Involving Weapons During the Commission of a Felony
1 Count of Conspiracy
1 Count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise
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