Leader of Tijuana-based Fentanyl Trafficking Organization Sentenced

SAN DIEGO - Alejandro Salinas of Tijuana, Mexico, was sentenced in federal court today to 240 months in prison for leading an organization that trafficked large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico.

Salinas previously pleaded guilty to participating in an international conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

The case is part of an investigation of a drug trafficking organization referred to as "The Office," which operated a convenience store for illegal drugs in Tijuana, open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, for mostly American buyers. The Office sold a variety of narcotics at its Tijuana store, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. At the same time, The Office sent drugs into the United States, acting as a drug wholesale and delivery service for users and distributors in San Diego County and elsewhere. The organization employed "runners," typically U.S. citizens, who smuggled drugs across the international border to fill orders.

Investigators estimate The Office operated for at least five years and made several million dollars during that time, moving hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl and other controlled substances into the United States. Salinas held a leadership role in the organization from approximately 2020 to 2022, a time period during which he and his co-conspirators took advantage of the rise in demand for fentanyl during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the indictment of Salinas and his co-conspirators in April 2023 and coordination with Mexican authorities, the Attorney General of Mexico seized and closed The Office's Tijuana storefront in January 2024.

"The Office operated as a 24-hour storefront for spreading addiction and death," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. "We showed them it was closing time."

"The leader of this organization was responsible for the smuggling of deadly narcotics, including fentanyl into our community and throughout the United States for years," said Kevin a Murphy, HSI San Diego Acting Special Agent in Charge. "HSI San Diego remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting our community and our nation by identifying, disrupting, and dismantling these criminal organizations."

The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Salinas.

DEFENDANTS Case Number 23cr618

Alejandro Salinas Age: 48 Tijuana, MX

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

International Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine - Title 21, U.S.C., Section 959, 960, 963

Maximum penalty: Life in prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation

Drug Enforcement Administration

San Diego Sheriff's Department

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.