Roswell Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Sergio Olivas, 31, of Roswell, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.

Olivas was arrested on Jan. 22, 2018, on an indictment charging him with possession of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  According to the indictment, Olivas committed the offense on Dec. 4, 2017, in Chaves County, N.M.

During today’s change of plea hearing, Olivas pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.  At sentencing, Olivas faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.  He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.