Five Members Of Drug Trafficking Organization Plead Guilty To Federal Drug And Drug-Related Crimes

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that five members of a drug trafficking organization pleaded guilty to Drug Conspiracy and other federal drug and drug-related crimes.

Rito Alvarado Gomez, age 36, pleaded guilty to Drug Conspiracy. Jose Alberto Alvarado Gomez, age 34, Ricardo Villeda, age 26, and Iris Yoselin Luna-Herrera, age 27, pleaded guilty to Distribution of Methamphetamine. Ana Isabel Frayre Barboza, age 38, pleaded guilty to Misprision of Felony.

The Indictment alleged that beginning in 2018 and continuing until around March 13, 2024, the defendants willfully and knowingly conspired together and with others to possess and distribute methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere.

The charges arose from a joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the 8th North Drug Task Force of Hope, Arkansas, and the 9th West Drug Task Force of Nashville, Arkansas. Additionally, several law enforcement agencies contributed to this investigation, including the Arkansas State Police, the Hope Police Department, and the McCurtain County Sheriff's Office.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF 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.

The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Rito Alvarado Gomez, Jose Alberto Alvarado Gomez, Ricardo Villeda, and Iris Yoselin Luna-Herrera were remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing. Ana Isabel Frayre Barboza was allowed to remain on bond pending sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Cornell and Jordan Howanitz represented the United States.