A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine as part of a drug-trafficking operation based in Phoenix, authorities said.

Jorge Anaya-Valencia of Guyamas, Sonora, Mexico, joins Jesus Manuel Soto Quihui, who was sentenced to 60 months in prison, and Diego Nunez-Aispuri and Ivan Manuel Higuera Torres, who each received sentences of 46 months, according to a release from the Arizona district of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  

Court documents show that in November 2023 investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration identified Anaya-Valencia as a member of a drug-trafficking organization operating in Phoenix. On Jan. 23, 2024, while conducting surveillance on Anaya-Valencia, agents watched as Higuero Torres arrived in a red Ford F-150 pickup truck to meet with Anaya-Valencia, the release stated.

“Anaya-Valencia initially inspected the back seat of the truck, and then Nunez-Aispuro loaded two plastic containers and one cardboard box out of the back seat of the Ford F-150 into the cargo area of a Chevrolet Tahoe, which Soto Quihui was driving,” authorities said in the release.

After Nunez-Aispuro completed the transfer, all four defendants left in various vehicles and were later arrested. Agents searched the Chevrolet Tahoe and inside the plastic containers and cardboard box found and seized approximately 167 pounds of methamphetamine. Agents also seized two firearms.

Anaya-Valencia had 12 prior removals from the United States and nine previous criminal immigration convictions. He also has a prior felony conviction for conspiracy to commit possession of dangerous drugs for sale, according to records.

At the time he was arrested in the latest case, Anaya-Valencia was on supervised release, and he was sentenced to an additional six months in prison as part of the disposition in that case.

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