Feds ID Drug Smugglers in 'Concho Valley Shakedown'

SAN ANGELO, TX - Forty-eight alleged drug traffickers and violators from San Angelo and the surrounding areas have been arrested as part of an 18-month-long narcotics operation, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould at a press conference in San Angelo today.

“This message should send a loud and clear message to drug dealers in the Concho Valley. We are coming for you,” Raybould said. “This operation is proof of concept for state, local, and federal agents coming together to dismantle an alleged drug trafficking network. As U.S. Attorney, I will put more time, attention, and resources into ensuring that the Concho Valley is safe.”

"Operation Concho Valley Shakedown was a decisive, collaborative effort," said DEA San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Miguel Madrigal. "By combining resources and expertise, we dismantled this drug trafficking organization and removed a dangerous presence that had cast a shadow over West Texas communities. These drugs fuel addiction, breed violence, and destroy families. The network we targeted was importing large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and lethal fentanyl — substances that threaten public safety and the quality of life for residents."

Twenty-four of the alleged drug dealers were federally indicted on May 13, 2026, and were arrested following a large-scale drug bust in San Angelo last week. Another 24 alleged violators were charged by local district attorneys on felony and misdemeanor offenses related to the operation.

Those charged in three separate federal indictments include: 

Those charged by the 51st District Attorney, Allison Palmer, and the 119th District Attorney, John H. Best, include 16 additional state felony cases and nine misdemeanor cases, alleging various drug offenses, evading arrest offenses and other violations.

The operation involved over 30 agents, officers, and deputies from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s San Antonio Field Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Angelo Field Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, the San Angelo Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshal’s Office, the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol – Air & Marine Operations – San Angelo, and the Abilene Police Department.

Over the course of the operation, agents seized over 35 kilograms of methamphetamine, 303 grams of cocaine, and 10 firearms.

“Operation Concho Valley Shakedown” was a San Angelo-area first: a comprehensive narcotics investigation that involved seven separate local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the combined efforts of federal and state prosecutors. The collaboration by the agencies was evident in the attached video taken during the takedown that occurred on May 28, 2026.

If convicted, some defendants face a sentence of up to life in federal prison.

This HSTF investigation was conducted by agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s San Antonio Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Angelo Field Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, the San Angelo Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshal’s Service, U.S. Customs & Border Patrol – Air & Marine Operations – San Angelo, and the Abilene Police Department, with the prosecution being led by the Abilene Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

“Operation Concho Valley Shakedown” is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting, the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.