Navajo Nation Methamphetamine Supply

Sixteen Arrested in Fed-Tribal Probe of Navajo Nation Methamphetamine SupplyUndercover Operation Found Valley Links to Major Meth Distribution Cell on Navajo Nation

April 23, 2010 - FLAGSTAFF, AZ—U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke joined tribal, federal and local law enforcement officials here today to announce the arrest on federal charges of 16 people accused of dealing meth on the Navajo Nation, the outcome of a long-term investigation into what officials described as the largest meth distribution network operating on the Nation.

“We have absolute zero-tolerance for meth sales on Tribal Nations, where this drug has done so much damage and is a known driver of violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Burke. “This joint investigation by the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Flagstaff Police Department, targeted what we believe to be the largest meth distribution cell in the Navajo Nation, with a supply-line stretching all the way from Tuba City to the Phoenix metropolitan area. It’s an amazing piece of dedicated police work across multiple jurisdictions and it will have an impact.”

“I want to thank U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke and each of the law enforcement agencies for a job well done,” said Hope MacDonald Lone Tree, Councilwoman of the Navajo Nation. “I am especially proud of the professional and outstanding work of our Navajo officers and investigators who are our local heroes. With all the challenges they have on the job, they continue to be Navajo’s first line of defense against criminal activity. We feel secure knowing that they are relentless in capturing individuals who wreck havoc in our communities and cause irreparable harm and injury to our children and families. The assistance and support of the Flagstaff Police Department and our Federal partners has been invaluable. Drug abuse has a deadly effect across our Navajo Nation.”

Following a year-long intensive undercover operation led by the Navajo Nation Drug and Gang Unit with federal and local agency support, police arrested 16 people on federal charges. Fourteen were taken into custody on Tuesday and Wednesday, and two were arrested last week. Taken together, the charging documents detail 47 separate charges including conspiracy, aid and abet, and possession with the intent to distribute various quantities of methamphetamine on the Navajo Nation.

“Today’s indictments and arrests illustrate the commitment by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to address meth trafficking on the Navajo Nation,” said Nathan Gray, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI Phoenix Division. “Meth is a devastating drug that directly affects our youth and the communities in which they reside. The FBI will continue to work with our tribal, federal, and local partners to target drug traffickers who prey on American Indian communities.

“This joint task force between the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, FBI, Flagstaff Police Department, and the Navajo Nation, shows the success that can be achieved when resources and people are pooled together,” said Selanhongva McDonald, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “In this undercover operation, we had one goal, to get the drug dealers out of the communities they were selling in. BIA is proud to have taken part in this investigation.”

In determining an actual sentence, the judge will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

An indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety Drug & Gang Unit, the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Flagstaff Police Department, with assistance from the Phoenix Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Joe Lodge, Assistant U.S. Attorney in Flagstaff, and Christina Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney in Phoenix.