“Drug Kingpin” gets 28 years for trafficking drugs from Mexico to Alaska

Press Release

The defendant was arrested and deported to the U.S. in 2021.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The leader of an extensive transnational drug trafficking organization was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Wednesday for running a conspiracy that trafficked vast amounts of dangerous drugs to Alaska.

According to court documents, Miguel Baez Guevara, a.k.a. "Javi," 41, a U.S. citizen who was living in Mexico, was the leader of a transnational criminal drug trafficking organization. In October 2014 Guevara was indicted by the State of Arizona for drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons offenses. Guevara fled to Mexico where he headed an enterprise that trafficked large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine into the U.S., specifically targeting Alaska, from Mexico. Guevara claimed membership in, and association with, the Sinaloa Cartel.

Guevara's organization recruited drug couriers who lived in Alaska by using fake personas on social media and encrypted messaging applications. The couriers were promised money or drugs in exchange for traveling to Mexico to collect narcotics for transport back to Alaska. Couriers would travel in small groups led by a team leader and would typically smuggle around 250 grams of drugs on each trip. Guevara gave them instructions on how to smuggle the drugs back to Alaska, where they were met by a member of Guevara's organization who paid them and collected the drugs for local distribution.

Guevara used violence, threats of violence, and his affiliation with the Sinaloa Cartel to intimidate and maintain total control of his organization. He required drug couriers to submit photos of their driver's license and maintained records of each worker in his organization. He threatened to have houses burned down in Alaska and on one occasion had a U.S. citizen from Alaska shot in the knee over a drug dispute when they traveled to Mexico. He later bragged he was responsible for the shooting, showed photos and ultimately warned others what could happen if they stole drugs or money from him.

Guevara conducted all these operations from Mexico. The defendant was expelled from Mexico to the U.S. in September 2021 after a federal grand jury in Alaska charged him on a 17 count indictment and he was subsequently arrested by Mexican authorities. Between 2016 and 2022, at least 30 other couriers and dealers working for the defendant were federally prosecuted for participating in Guevara's drug trafficking organization.

In total, law enforcement seized 7.1 kilograms of meth, nearly 10 kilograms of heroin and 900 grams of cocaine destined for Alaska linked to Guevara's enterprise. His enterprise grossed millions of dollars in drug sales during the course of the conspiracy. Those proceeds were smuggled to Mexico.

The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of continuing criminal enterprise and one count of drug conspiracy on Jan. 17, 2024, in front of U.S. District Court Chief Magistrate Judge Matthew M. Scoble.

The Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute 21 U.S.C. § 848 is often referred to as the "Kingpin Statute." The statute is designed to reach the top brass in drug trafficking organizations, and not the lieutenants and foot soldiers. The statute was enacted to target large-scale profit-making enterprises engaged in the illegal importation, manufacture and distribution of controlled substances.

Three other defendants in this case have already been sentenced:

• Joel Rascone, 30, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute heroin and was sentenced to 120 months' imprisonment.
• Serena Joseph, 41, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and money laundering and was sentenced to 63 months' imprisonment.
• Washahiotha Zaragoza, 46, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.

Four additional co-defendants are believed to be at large in Mexico.

"I want to thank the FBI, DEA, the Coast Guard Investigative Service and all other supporting law enforcement agencies who helped bring justice in this case," said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. "Keeping our communities safe from violent drug traffickers is a priority for the U.S. Attorney's Office. To those looking to greedily profit by trafficking dangerous drugs to Alaska-our office, alongside our law enforcement partners, will use the full force of our resources to investigate and prosecute you to the furthest extent of the law."

"Mr. Guevara is responsible for trafficking substantial amounts of dangerous drugs into Alaska from Mexico, while preying and profiting on the addictions of others," said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. "The FBI, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to identify, disrupt, and dismantle transnational criminal organizations that threaten the safety and security of our communities in Alaska."

"DEA is committed to protecting Alaskans from violent drug traffickers who prey on our communities," said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. "Mr. Guevara ran a drug trafficking organization that used violence to spread the misery of drugs throughout Alaska for his own enrichment. I am proud of DEA's role, alongside our partners in the FBI, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, in stopping him."

"The Coast Guard Investigative Service is committed to safeguarding the lives of those who live and work in maritime communities. We thank our law enforcement partners for their steadfast efforts in removing this threat to the lives of our Alaskan neighbors," said Special Agent in Charge Paul Shultz of the Coast Guard Investigative Service Northwest Field Office.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration Seattle Field Office led the investigation, with support from the Anchorage Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations Sells, Arizona Office, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Alaska State Troopers, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Police and Alaska National Guard.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ainsley McNerney, Chris Schroeder and William Taylor are prosecuting the case, with assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison O'Leary. The U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, and law enforcement agencies in the state of Arizona provided additional support on the case.

This investigation and prosecution are part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force ("OCDETF"), which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

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Updated August 30, 2024