Eight Indicted In Denver Metro Area On Drug, Weapon, and Money Laundering Charges (DOJ)

DENVER - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announces that Dario Perez Quintero, 34, formerly of Denver, Colorado; Guadalupe Mendoza Martinez, 46, of Aurora, Colorado; Pedro Mendoza Martinez, 54, of Aurora, Colorado; Abimael Felix Luque, 32, of Aurora, Colorado; David Uvaldo Mora Sanchez, 32, formerly of Aurora, Colorado; Hector Joel Quijada Portillo, 30, of Commerce City, Colorado; Oscar Noel Ruelas Molina, 44, of Aurora, Colorado; and Jose Alexis Guzman Felix, 30, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, were indicted this week on charges related to weapons possession, money laundering, and drug trafficking in the Denver metro area.

According to the eighteen-count indictment:

• Each of the aforementioned defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; fentanyl; and cocaine.
• Perez Quintero is also charged individually and with others with six additional counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, as well as one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Guadalupe Mendoza Martinez is also charged individually and with others with:
  • Four counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
  • Four counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine;
  • One count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine;
  • One count of possessing a firearm as an alien who is illegally and unlawfully present in the United States; and
  • One count of promotion of unlawful activity using funds represented to be proceeds of illegal controlled substances distribution.
• Pedro Mendoza Martinez faces one additional charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
• Luque and Mora Sanchez face one additional charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Quijada Portillo faces one additional charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine; one additional charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and one count of promotion of unlawful activity using funds represented to be proceeds of illegal controlled substances distribution.
• Guzman Felix faces one additional charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

If convicted of count one, conspiracy, defendants face a sentence of up to life in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This investigation 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. The Rocky Mountain HSTF comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Internal Revenue Service, Office of Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); United States Marshals Service (USMS); Diplomatic Security Service (DSS); United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement / Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE/ERO); and United States Customs and Border Patrol with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado.

The prosecution is being handled by the Transnational Organized Crime and Money Laundering Section of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado.

Case Number 26-CR-27-DDD