An undercover operation by Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police convinced an Arizona man to deliver more than 37,000 fentanyl pills to the Isleta Reservation last month, court documents show.
The U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs announced the seizure in a press release Tuesday but provided few details.
Federal court records filed the same day and reviewed by nm.news show an undercover Isleta officer used Facebook to arrange for the delivery of 10,000 fentanyl pills to the parking lot of the Isleta Resort and Casino in late October. The deal began when the officer asked the Arizona suspect if he was “coming through the 505 anytime soon?”
The suspect was arrested when he arrived. He was found to have more than 4,000 grams of fentanyl pills resembling Oxycodone and over $37,000 in cash in his car. The suspect was arrested and held without bond. Nm.news does not name persons accused of crimes before conviction. The Facebook account named in court documents is connected to a strip club promoter in Phoenix who last posted the day before the arrest.
“We commend the law enforcement teams from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Pueblo of Isleta, and all of the other dedicated men and women involved, for your unwavering protection of Indian Country,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
Federal and local agencies including the BIA, U.S. Marshals, New Mexico State Police and Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the investigation
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