Texas Man Sentenced To 84 Months In Prison For Role In Large-Scale Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Texas man has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline to serve 84 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to sell large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to Alaska-based drug dealers.  

Omar Alejandro Alfaro, 37, of Texas, previously pled guilty to conspiring with others to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.  As part of his guilty plea, Alfaro admitted that he personally delivered large quantities of drugs to Alaska-based co-conspirators who then transported the drugs to Anchorage for distribution.  Alfaro admitted working with co-conspirators both in the United States and in Mexico.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie C. Courter, who prosecuted the case, the conspiracy began in January 2013 and continued until October 2014.  During that time, conspirators imported a total of 12 kilograms of heroin and two pounds of methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico. 

As part of his guilty plea, Alfaro admitted personally delivering both heroin and methamphetamine on multiple occasions.  In March 2014, for example, Alfaro delivered approximately one kilogram of heroin to an undercover DEA agent posing as an Alaska-based drug dealer.  Several months later, in June 2014, Alfaro again delivered drugs to the undercover agent – this time, he delivered approximately 2.5 kilograms of heroin and 866 grams of actual methamphetamine.  During the exchange, the undercover agent provided Alfaro with an Alaska themed t-shirt that had been requested by Alfaro’s Mexico-based co-conspirator.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Beistline noted the devastating consequences that heroin and methamphetamine have on individuals and was particularly concerned about the significant quantity of drugs for which Alfaro was personally responsible.  In sentencing Alfaro, Judge Beistline also emphasized the need for deterrence and the need to reinforce societal norms.

The sentencing hearing is related to a string of indictments returned in late 2014 and early 2015 as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle and prosecute several large scale drug trafficking rings with ties to Alaska, California, Texas, Arizona, and Mexico.  To date, the following individuals have been sentenced as part of these efforts:

• Timothy Alex, an Anchorage drug distributor, previously sentenced to 108 months in prison;
• Daniel Harris, an Anchorage drug distributor, previously sentenced to 135 months in prison;
• Jose Ramon Canales, of Texas, previously sentenced to 70 months in prison for laundering drug money out of the United States and into Mexico;
• Genaro Gutierrez-Reyes, of California, previously sentenced to 18 months in prison for laundering drug money out of the United States and into Mexico;
• Jorge Armando Zaragoza-Soto, of Mexico, previously sentenced to 96 months in prison for drug trafficking;
• Geronimo Arellano Velarde, of California, previously sentenced to 120 months in prison for drug trafficking; and
• Tomas Gutierrez Ayala, of California, previously sentenced to 75 months in prison for drug trafficking.

Several other defendants are set to be sentenced in the coming months for their roles in trafficking heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine to Alaska and then transporting the cash proceeds of their trafficking activities back to Mexico.

This and the related cases were investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Loeffler praised the work of the law enforcement agencies involved, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Anchorage Police Department (APD), the Alaska State Troopers (AST), and the Anchorage Airport Police Department.  Additional assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Texas, the Eastern and Central Districts of California, and the District of Arizona, as well as federal agents in all three states.