Approximately 13,000 Fentanyl Pills Seized During Undercover Operation, Three Foreign Nationals Detained and Charged (DOJ)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging three foreign nationals, living in Utah, with drug crimes after agents allegedly seized approximately 13,000 fentanyl pills during a controlled buy and execution of a search warrant in West Valley City, Utah.

Diego Armando Campos-Fallas, 19, of Costa Rica, Hugo Eduardo Miraba-Franco, 20, of Ecuador, and Jose Enrique Zuniga-Diaz, 19, of, Honduras, were charged by complaint on March 21, 2025.

According to court documents, on March 19, 2025, agents coordinated an undercover operation to purchase 5,000 fentanyl pills during a controlled buy from Campos-Fallas in West Valley City. Upon arrival at the meeting location for the controlled buy, Campos got into the undercover agent's vehicle with approximately 5,000 fentanyl pills and was subsequently detained. Miraba-Franco, who was seated in the drivers' seat of Campos' vehicle was also detained. A search warrant was served at a residence in West Valley City, where Campos, Miraba and Zuniga-Diaz live. At the residence, agents seized an additional 8,000 fentanyl pills, 102.2 grams of marijuana, and 1125.3 grams of THC cartridges. A search warrant was also executed on Campos' vehicle, a black Hyundai Elantra, and approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills were recovered. The fentanyl provided to the undercover agent during the controlled buy, and the fentanyl seized at the residence, approximately 13,000 in total, were field-tested and tested positive for fentanyl.

Campos-Fallas, Miraba-Franco, and Zuniga-Diaz are charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. Campos Fallas and Miraba-Franco are also charged with distribution of fentanyl. Their initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for April 3, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Assistant United States Attorney Mark K. Vincent of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.