Five charged in Hobbs drug ring

Five residents face federal charges for their roles in a drug trafficking and money laundering operation centered in Hobbs, New Mexico. The case involves the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl across three states.

Court documents identify Cesar Antonio Huerta, 28, as the leader of the group. Prosecutors state that Huerta coordinated the movement of narcotics between June 2025 and July 2026. The operation allegedly extended into Arizona and California.

Jesus Landeros, 31, is accused of supplying the drugs with assistance from Marycruz Perez, 34, and Josefina Cabrera-Becerra, 59. Mariela Belen Lechuga, 24, who is identified as Huerta's girlfriend, is alleged to have helped redistribute the drugs in Hobbs and collect the proceeds. The group used the U.S. Postal Service to ship packages from Arizona and Southern California to addresses associated with Huerta.

Investigators identified at least 13 suspicious shipments between June and September 2025. On Sept. 11, 2025, U.S. Postal Inspectors intercepted one parcel that contained approximately 2.2 kilograms of pure methamphetamine. Court records indicate that Cabrera mailed the package from Inglewood, California, and surveillance footage linked the shipment to the defendants.

Financial records show that Huerta and Lechuga sent about $186,851 to Landeros, Perez, and Cabrera-Becerra between June 2025 and July 2026. The transfers used Cash App, Zelle, and other electronic platforms, often labeled as payments for clothes, shoes, rent, or food. Authorities also recovered about 5,997 grams of fentanyl and one pound of methamphetamine from Cabrera in California in April 2026.

The complaint charges all five defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison if convicted. Huerta also faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm after agents recovered a gun during a traffic stop in September 2026.