Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ALBUQUERQUE – A U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Alfonso Vazquez, 31, of Roswell, N.M., with a methamphetamine trafficking offense.  The charge arises from the distribution of approximately 56.5 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent.  Vazquez was remanded into custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

According to the criminal complaint, Vazquez distributed approximately 56.5 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Aug. 10, 2018, in Chaves County, N.M. 

The penalty for a conviction on the offense charged in the criminal complaint is a statutory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the ATF, DEA and Homeland Security Investigations and the HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Davenport is prosecuting the case.

The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

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