The leader of a drug trafficking organization that moved tens of thousands of fentanyl pills from Mexico into Albuquerque was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in federal prison.
David Mendoza-Enriquez, 42, a Mexican national illegally present in the United States, pleaded guilty to eight federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, alien smuggling and illegal wildlife trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
From 2020 through January 2023, Mendoza headed a distribution network that transported large quantities of fentanyl pills from Juarez across the border into Albuquerque, court records show. Law enforcement conducted an undercover investigation that resulted in multiple controlled purchases directly from Mendoza, including a 2022 transaction involving nearly 5,000 fentanyl pills at his restaurant, Taco-H.
The investigation expanded in early 2023 after a shooting involving Mendoza’s associates. Officers responding to that incident discovered a live tiger cub concealed inside a trailer. The cub, named Duke, was transferred to the ABQ BioPark and later to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado.
Investigators also uncovered that Mendoza conspired to import other exotic animals for profit and arranged to smuggle people from Mexico into the United States, including his sons. On one occasion, he directed people to cross the border alongside an alligator that had its mouth taped shut.
Mendoza was charged with 13 co-defendants in a 26-count superseding indictment returned in January 2024. To date, all 14 co-defendants have pleaded guilty and seven have been sentenced.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and multiple New Mexico law enforcement agencies.
