Foreign National Extradited from Mexico to the United States to Face Fentanyl Trafficking Charges

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Mexican national made his initial appearance in federal court in Sacramento on Friday, April 19, 2024, to face charges for fentanyl-pill, cocaine, and methamphetamine trafficking and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

On March 3, 2022, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Luis Felipe Lopez Zamora, aka Gordo, 28, formerly of Tijuana, Mexico, and 13 co-defendants, charging them with a variety of fentanyl-pill, cocaine, and methamphetamine trafficking and money laundering crimes. Lopez Zamora was arrested by Mexican authorities on Jan. 2, 2024, on a warrant based on an extradition request, and he remained detained in Mexico pending his extradition. He was extradited from Mexico to the United States on April 18, 2024.

According to court documents, Lopez Zamora was a Tijuana-based source of supply and organizational leader of a Sacramento-based drug trafficking organization (DTO). The leader of the DTO in Sacramento was Lopez Zamora's brother, co-defendant Jose Lopez-Zamora. From at least May 2019 until January 2021, the DTO was responsible for importing tens of thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone "M-30" pills from Mexico and distributing them in northern California and elsewhere. The DTO also distributed cocaine and methamphetamine.

Lopez Zamora is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 400 grams of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl, cocaine, and at least 50 grams of methamphetamine; two counts of possession with intent to distribute at least 400 grams of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl; and one count of conspiracy to launder money.

Eight defendants have pleaded guilty and six have been sentenced as follows:

• Rudi Jean Carlos pleaded guilty and, on Oct. 11, 2022, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison.
• Jason Lamar Lee pleaded guilty and, on Oct. 11, 2022, was sentenced to eight years and seven months in prison.
• Javier Hernandez pleaded guilty and, on Nov. 8, 2022, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.
• Christopher Kegan Williams pleaded guilty, and on Dec. 14, 2021, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
• Baudelio Vizcarra Jr., pleaded guilty, and on Jan. 24, 2023, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
• Mateo Elias Guerrero-Gonzales pleaded guilty and, on Oct. 11, 2022, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
• Alejandro Tello pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3, 2024.
• Christian Anthony Romero pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16, 2024.

Charges are pending against the following defendants: Jose Guadalupe Lopez-Zamora, Leonardo Flores Beltran, Joaquin Alberto Sotelo Valdez, Erika Gabriela Zamora Rojo, Jose Luis Aguilar Saucedo, Rosario Zamora Rojo, and Sandro Escobedo. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 Lopez Zamora. Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Lopez Zamora faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison on each of the drug trafficking counts and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering conspiracy count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about OCDETF, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

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