Arizona judge sentences Mexican drug trafficker to 15 years

PHOENIX — A Mexican drug trafficker was sentenced on Tuesday to 180 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Jorge Anaya-Valencia, a 48-year-old from Sonora, Mexico, had been illegally residing in Arizona and was identified as part of a Phoenix-based drug trafficking operation in November 2023, a press release said.

Three other drug trafficking associates with Anaya-Valencia were sentenced prior to him, Jesus Manuel Soto Quihui earning five years while Diego Nunez-Aispuri and Ivan Manuel Higuera Torres earned 46-month sentences.

According to court records, Anaya-Valencia had 12 removals from the U.S. and nine “criminal immigration convictions” before the sentencing. He was also previously convicted of conspiracy to commit possession of dangerous drugs for sale.

Details of drug trafficker sentencing by Arizona judge

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents assigned to watch Anaya-Valencia observed him meeting up with Higuera Torres, Soto Quihui and Nunez-Aispuri for a drug transfer on January 23, 2024.

After the DEA agents let the transfer be completed, they followed the four men who left in separate vehicles, caught up to them and arrested them.

In their search, agents found 167 pounds of methamphetamine and two firearms, one in Anaya-Valencia’s glove compartment and the other on the body of Soto Quihui.

District of Arizona’s Travis L. Wheeler conducted the prosecution in association with fellow Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Zander.

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