Five Mexican nationals indicted after massive meth lab bust uncovers enormous quantities of drugs

Five Mexican nationals were indicted connected national cause trafficking and weapons charges this week aft authorities discovered a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory successful Northern California, starring to the seizure of astir 3,000 pounds of the drug, officials said.

The Department of Justice said a national expansive assemblage returned a 10-count indictment Thursday against Luis Reyna Carrillo, 33, Mariana Vanessa Mendoza Camacho, 33, Juan Jesus Manriquez Diaz, 31, Alvaro Rosales, 44, and Manuel Juan Madrid Perez, 38, charging them with conspiracy to manufacture and administer methamphetamine, on with aggregate cause trafficking and firearms offenses.

"These amerciable aliens allegedly operated a concealed laboratory connected American ungraded producing thousands of pounds of deadly drugs to poison our communities," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. "This clandestine and amerciable cognition has present been dismantled – we volition proceed protecting Americans from the unsafe results of the anterior administration’s open-border policies."

Carrillo and his wife, Camacho, came to the U.S. successful March 2021 and were fixed a announcement to look successful tribunal astatine a aboriginal date. Diaz was removed from the U.S. successful 2018, portion Rosales was removed successful 2024.

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Federal agents seized astir 3,000 pounds of meth successful a Northern California laboratory bust, charging 5 suspects with cause trafficking and weapons offenses. (Department of Justice)

Court documents allege that successful October 2025, instrumentality enforcement officials launched an probe into an enactment suspected of manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine successful a distant conception of Calaveras County.

Investigators identified Carrillo and his associates arsenic portion of a cause trafficking cognition liable for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine successful Calaveras County.

The probe culminated connected Feb. 27, 2026, erstwhile aggregate agencies executed hunt warrants astatine 3 locations — Valley Springs, Turlock and Modesto — each allegedly connected to Carrillo and his associates.

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Federal agents seized astir 3,000 pounds of meth successful a Northern California laboratory bust, charging 5 suspects with cause trafficking and weapons offenses. (Department of Justice)

During the searches, investigators discovered a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory successful Calaveras County, wherever they seized astir 1,430 pounds of methamphetamine and 1,270 pounds of suspected methamphetamine successful a partially processed state.

Authorities besides searched 2 further residences successful Stanislaus County linked to Carrillo and his associates. At a location successful Turlock, agents seized an further 300 pounds of methamphetamine packaged for distribution, 9 firearms and aggregate magazines and rounds of ammunition.

In Modesto, agents seized 2 pounds of methamphetamine, 107 pounds of processed marijuana, 1,900 marijuana plants and 3 firearms.

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Federal agents seized astir 3,000 pounds of meth successful a Northern California laboratory bust, charging 5 suspects with cause trafficking and weapons offenses. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The DOJ said Carrillo and Diaz are some prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to the fact that they are amerciable aliens, portion Perez is besides prohibited from having guns and ammunition owed to anterior felony convictions.

All 5 defendants — Carrillo, Camacho, Diaz, Rosales and Perez — are charged with conspiracy to manufacture and administer methamphetamine, arsenic good arsenic possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Carrillo, Diaz and Perez besides look further charges related to possessing firearms successful furtherance of cause trafficking crimes.

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Carrillo is besides charged with illegally possessing a firearm arsenic a noncitizen, portion Diaz is accused of unlawfully possessing ammunition.

Perez besides faces a complaint of being a felon successful possession of a firearm owed to anterior convictions.

If convicted connected the cause trafficking charges, Carrillo, Camacho, Diaz, Rosales and Perez each look a mandatory minimum of 10 years successful situation and up to beingness down bars, on with fines of up to $10 million, according to national prosecutors.

Carrillo, Diaz and Perez could look further penalties if convicted connected the firearms-related charges.

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Perez besides faces enhanced penalties owed to anterior felony convictions.

Any last condemnation would beryllium determined by a justice based connected national sentencing guidelines and different statutory factors.