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HSTF investigation leads to Rio Rico man being sentenced to 60 months in prison for drug and money laundering conspiracies

 

Date: Sept. 9, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Tucson, AZ – Hugo Jesus Munoz of Rio Rico, Arizona, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 60 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Munoz previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. 

As part of the drug conspiracy, Munoz distributed 4 kilograms of fentanyl and 3.5 kilograms of methamphetamine using the U.S. Postal Service. As part of the money laundering conspiracy, Munoz had $105,000 in drug proceeds deposited into his personal and business bank accounts from his drug distribution customers.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) 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. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. This HSTF Arizona investigation involved agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration in Detroit, Michigan and Tucson, Arizona, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, United States Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.