Illegal Aliens from Mexico Indicted for Drug Trafficking in Utah after Agents Seized Nearly 100,000 Fentanyl Pills and Other Narcotics in Homeland Security Task Force Operation

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment charging two illegal aliens from Mexico with drug crimes after agents with the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force, and Homeland Security Task Force, seized approximately 98,800 fentanyl pills and other illicit drugs during the execution of multiple search warrants.

Eder Montoya-Rosales, aka Jesus Tadeo Gonzalez Estrada, 21, residing illegally in Salt Lake City, and Nazario De Jesus Del Campo Perez, 31, residing illegally in Salt Lake City, were initially charged by complaint on April 9, 2026.

According to the allegations in court documents, beginning in February 2026, agents with the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force initiated a criminal investigation into Montoya-Rosales, Perez, and other members of a drug trafficking organization believed to be distributing large quantities of narcotics in the District of Utah. On April 8, 2026, agents executed multiple search warrants on residences and vehicles believed to be used by the defendants. During the search of Perez's residence, agents located and seized approximately 9,747.99 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl; 1,330.34 grams of field-tested positive heroin; 84.70 grams of field-tested positive methamphetamine; a suspected drug ledger; drug paraphernalia, and U.S. currency. The fentanyl evidence is approximately 97,000 fentanyl pills.

During the search of Montoya-Rosales's vehicle, agents located and seized approximately 184.29 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl; 243.28 grams of field-tested positive heroin, and 15.81 grams of field-tested positive methamphetamine. The fentanyl evidence is approximately 1,800 fentanyl pills. During the search of Montoya-Rosales's residence, agents located and seized approximately 2.71 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl and a quantity of U.S. currency. Montoya-Rosales was previously removed from the United States on October 1, 2024. Perez has been removed from the United States on multiple occasions, including March 26, 2014, July 26, 2019, and November 5, 2024.

Montoya-Rosales and Perez are charged with multiple charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and reentry of a previously removed alien. Their initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for April 24, 2026, at 12:30 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.

First Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Assistant United States Attorney Seth Nielsen of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

These prosecutions are 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 Salt Lake comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Utah.

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