Mexican National Arrested After Indictment for Methamphetamine and Heroin Trafficking and Money Laundering Following Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - An eight-count indictment was unsealed today charging Hugo Alberto Herrera Rodriguez, 41, a Mexican national residing unlawfully in California, with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, distributing methamphetamine and heroin, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

The indictment was returned on June 13, 2024, and was unsealed following Herrera Rodriguez's arrest on Tuesday in Grass Valley.

According to court documents, between June 2019 and October 2019, Herrera Rodriguez was the Mexico-based leader and organizer of a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and heroin throughout northern California. Herrera Rodriguez conspired with others in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Placer, Nevada, and Stanislaus Counties to transfer the drug trafficking proceeds from the United States to Mexico in a manner designed to conceal the source and ownership of the money.

If convicted of the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, or the distribution of methamphetamine counts, Herrera Rogriguez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million. For the distribution of heroin counts, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million for each of the counts and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. For the conspiracy to commit money laundering count, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case 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 Sacramento is composed of agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, the Sacramento Area Intelligence and Narcotics Team (SAINT), the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, the Nevada City Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew De Moura are prosecuting the case.