Mexican National Indicted for Drug Crimes in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment charging an undocumented Mexican national, living in the United States illegally, with drug crimes after he allegedly possessed and intended to distribute methamphetamine in the District of Utah.

Manuel Santos-Ramirez, 32, who was living in Salt Lake City, was charged by complaint on August 28, 2025.

According to court documents, since July 2025, agents with the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force have been investigating a drug trafficking organization (DTO). In August 2025, during a controlled purchase of methamphetamine, a male later identified as Santos-Ramirez, arrived in a silver Ford F-150 pick-up truck, which agents followed to a residence in Salt Lake City. A search warrant was obtained and executed at the residence in Salt Lake City and the silver Ford F-150 pick-up truck. Law enforcement seized 5,843 grams of methamphetamine, which field-tested positive for the narcotic. Half of the methamphetamine was found in the pick-up truck, and the other half was inside the residence. The substance purchased during the controlled buy also field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Santos-Ramirez was arrested and remains in federal custody.

Santos-Ramirez is charged possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. His initial appearance on the indictment was September 11, 2025. A three-day jury trial is scheduled for November 14, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. in courtroom 7.2 before Senior U.S District Court Judge Clark Waddoups at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter Reichman of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

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