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Press Release

Mexican National Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trafficking Cocaine in Anthony, N.M.

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE –Alejandro Lopez, 41, a Mexican native who resides in Anthony, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60 months in federal prison for his cocaine trafficking conviction.  Alejandro Lopez, a legal permanent resident, will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.

Alejandro Lopez and his brother Eddy Lopez, 38, were arrested on Nov. 15, 2012, on a criminal complaint charging them with trafficking in cocaine.  On March 29, 2013, Eddy Lopez entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.  Alejandro Lopez was indicted on that same charge on June 19, 2013.


Alejandro Lopez was found guilty on Sept. 18, 2013, by a federal jury after a three-day trial.  The evidence at trial established that in late Sept. 2012, a confidential informant working under the supervision of the FBI and the Las Cruces/ Doña Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency had several telephone conversations with Eddy Lopez during which the informant negotiated to facilitate the purchase of a kilogram of cocaine for $22,000 from Eddy Lopez on behalf of a buyer.  On Sept. 27, 2012, law enforcement officers conducted surveillance while Alejandro Lopez and Eddy Lopez completed the drug deal by delivering a package containing 794 grams of cocaine to the informant.  Both men were arrested on local charges at that time.  The local charges subsequently were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution. 
A sentencing hearing for Eddy Lopez has yet to be set.  He faces a prison sentence of not less than five years and not more than 40 years followed by at least four years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Las Cruces/Doña Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Y. Armijo and Edwin Garreth Winstead III of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

Updated January 26, 2015