ALBUQUERQUE – Ricardo Raul Murrietta-Romero, 38, a U.S. citizen who resides in Nogales, Mexico, made his initial appearance today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of more than 12 pounds of heroin with intent to distribute. Murrietta-Romero remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing which are scheduled fortomorrow morning.
Murrietta-Romero was arrested yesterday after DEA agents allegedly found approximately 12.208 pounds of heroin in his luggage at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. If convicted on the charge in the criminal complaint, Murrietta-Romero faces a statutory penalty of a mandatory minimum of ten years and maximum of life in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into or through New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Information from Department of Justice