Multi-state drug trafficker pleads guilty to distributing methamphetamine and heroin and illegal reentry after deportation

DENVER – A Mexican national illegally present in the United States pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 100 grams or more of heroin, as well as illegal reentry after deportation.

Arturo David Aguilera-Viveros, 36, who was living in Adams County, Colorado, was originally charged in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. He was subsequently charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming for his role in a separate conspiracy which sent large quantities of methamphetamine from Colorado into Wyoming. As part of his plea agreement in the Colorado case, Aguilera-Viveros agreed to transfer his Wyoming case to Colorado to enter a plea of guilty and be sentenced.

United States Attorney, District of Colorado, Jason R. Dunn made the announcement.

Aguilera-Viveros admitted he was a manager or supervisor of criminal activity which involved five or more participants. Law enforcement determined that his drug trafficking activities in the Colorado case involved approximately three kilograms of near-pure methamphetamine and 200 grams of black tar heroin. He also admitted that his drug trafficking activities in the Wyoming case involved approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine.

Aguilera-Viveros is a citizen and national of Mexico. On Feb. 20, 2014, he was convicted in the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, of the offense of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute for which he was sentenced to 6 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Aguilera-Viveros was removed from the United States to Mexico Sept. 7, 2017.

On April 4, 2019, at the conclusion of the investigation which uncovered his most recent drug trafficking activities, law enforcement officers arrested Aguilera-Viveros during a search of his residence in Aurora, Colorado. The defendant did not apply for admission or otherwise seek approval to reenter the United States before doing so.

This case was investigated by the FBI-led Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), and Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Aguilera-Viveros was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter McNeilly. The office of Wyoming U.S. Attorney Mark A. Klaassen participated in the investigation into Aguilera-Viveros and agreed to transfer the case to Colorado for resolution.

The guilty plea was presented to U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore. Aguilera-Viveros is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Moore on Sept. 24, 2020.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation's illegal drug supply.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado. Related court documents can be found on PACER by searching for Case Numbers 19-cr-275 and 20-cr-105.