Las Cruces man charged in federal drug trafficking and firearms case

Date: Feb. 10, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

ALBUQUERQUE - A Las Cruces man has been federally charged following an FBI led drug trafficking investigation that resulted in the seizure of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and multiple firearms.

According to court documents, beginning in late 2025, the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the Las Cruces/Dona Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency began investigating David De La Paz and other members of a drug trafficking organization involved in narcotics distribution, illegal firearm possession, and related criminal activity in Las Cruces. On Feb. 3, 2026, investigators obtained a federal search warrant for De La Paz's residence in Las Cruces. The warrant was executed on Feb. 5, 2026, with assistance from the FBI Albuquerque SWAT team. During the initial entry, De La Paz was observed standing in his bedroom next to a loaded AR-15 style rifle on the bed.

During the search, agents recovered multiple loaded firearms, most of which were located in De La Paz's bedroom. Agents also recovered drug paraphernalia and suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine, and 30 grams cocaine, all of which field tested presumptively positive.

De La Paz is charged with possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He will remain detained pending a detention hearing, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, De La Paz faces 25 years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today on behalf of the Homeland Security Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Aragon Martinez is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution 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 Region II CORE 7 is comprised of agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations (OFO), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) and Air and Marine (AMO), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), United States Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Joint Task Force North (JTF-N), United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), United States Marshal Service (USMS), Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS), El Paso Police Department (EPPD), New Mexico State Police (NMSP), West Texas / New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico Sixth Judicial District, Las Cruces/Dona Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Districts of Western Texas and New Mexico.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.