Illegal Mexican National with Sinaloa Cartel Connections Sentenced (DOJ)

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Jose Alberto Camarena Rocha has been sentenced for his role in a drug trafficking organization that sold cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Jose Alberto Camarena Rocha, 32, was sentenced to 159 months in federal prison for a drug conspiracy involving over one kilogram of heroin and reentering the country illegally. Rocha, living in Phoenix, Arizona, was a supplier for this drug organization, using his connections with the Sinaloa Drug Cartel in Mexico, traveling across the country to pick up supply and deliver it to others who would then sell cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties. Total drug weights for Rocha's involvement is one and a half kilograms of heroin.

"Rocha thought he could get away with bringing this poison from California to the Mountain State. He was wrong and will now spend more than 13 years in prison," said U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. "Make no mistake. We will eliminate these ruthless cartels and will not tolerate their presence in our home."

The operation, led by Juan Suarez-Lugo, involved 18 defendants. Suarez-Lugo, Rocha, and 10 others have admitted their guilt. Nine, including Rocha, have been sentenced so far. Four defendants are scheduled for trial in June 2026, and two are still pending arrest on this Indictment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

The Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force was the lead investigative unit. Other investigative agencies that assisted include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, San Juan, and Philadelphia Field Offices; United States Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; United States Postal Service; Drug Enforcement Administration, Louisville and Chicago Divisions; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; West Virginia State Police; Martinsburg Police Department; Ranson Police Department; Charles Town Police Department; Berkeley County Sheriff's Office; Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; West Virginia Air National Guard; Mineral County Sheriff's Office; Grant County Sheriff's Office; Hampshire County Sheriff's Office; Keyser Police Department; Northwest Regional Drug Task Force, Virginia; Pennsylvania State Police; Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Pennsylvania; Winchester Police Department, Virginia; Frederick County Sheriff's Office, Virginia; Virginia State Police; Sunnyvale Police Department, California.

Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.

U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.

Find the related press release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/twenty-five-charged-drug-trafficking-eastern-panhandle]