Albuquerque gang member takes plea deal in record-breaking federal drug smuggling case

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Drug dealing, gun smuggling, the killing of informants, and a bust that made FBI history. The feds seized millions of dollars in cash , drugs, and weapons connected to several violent gangs in raids in 2022.

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In September 2022, federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI served 16 search warrants at homes around Albuquerque. The feds said several gangs in New Mexico created a hub to traffic drugs. “Just like Brittany Spears said ‘Oops we did it again’, except we do it again and we do it again and we do it again. And the whole purpose of that operation yesterday is like every other operation is simply to make our communities are staying safe that our communities are safe,” said Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda in 2022.

The raid and arrests made history for the FBI. “Our Albuquerque office conducted the largest takedown of fentanyl ever for the FBI. Arresting four people with more than a million fentanyl pills. That’s enough fentanyl to have killed thousands of people,” said Bujanda in 2022.

Jesse Young, a suspected member of the Surenos 13 Gang, was one of the big fish caught in the raids. Authorities believe Young to be involved in the murders of two SNM Gang members. On Friday, he pled guilty to drug and gun charges.

In his home, during the 2022 raid, Young had 54 kilograms of meth and 87 kilograms of fentanyl. One kilogram of fentanyl which can make more than a million pill doses.

He had more than $1.8 million in cash, so much that it was sitting in wheelbarrows and hidden in diaper boxes. Young was also in possession of 28 guns and multiple rounds for different caliber weapons.

He faces ten years to life in prison. Young will be sentenced at a later date.

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