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Multiple law enforcement agencies in the Albuquerque area have collaborated to arrest four men accused of “flooding Albuquerque’s streets with illegal drugs,” as stated by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).
Narcotics detectives from APD worked alongside the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office to carry out the arrests, which followed a series of raids that led to the seizure of 715,000 fentanyl pills, seven kilograms of cocaine, and 12 firearms, including two that appeared to be stolen.
The suspects arrested include Tomas Rubalcaba, 45, and Joaquin Rubalcaba, 40, who the DEA claims led the Rubalcaba Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). Also apprehended were Humberto Gastelum, 65, and Frederick Chavey, 38. APD reported that each suspect allegedly sold drugs to an undercover agent multiple times in 2024. According to the Department of Justice, Tomas Rubalcaba coordinated drug sales through his business, Albuquerque Classics.
Last week, Tomas Rubalcaba, Joaquin Rubalcaba, and Gastelum appeared before a federal judge and will remain in custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled. The federal judge granted Chavey permission to stay in the third-party custody of his sister until the trial.
A fifth suspect, Ismael Vargas, 37, remains at large, according to the Department of Justice.
In addition to executing search warrants related to the indicted members of the Rubalcaba DTO, law enforcement also searched the homes of uncharged DTO members. During these operations, authorities found over five kilograms of suspected cocaine at the residence of Luke Scarpetta, 35, and more than 600 grams of suspected fentanyl at the home of Richard Garcia, 44. Both Scarpetta and Garcia now face A-level narcotics charges. A federal judge has ordered Garcia to remain in custody pending trial, while Scarpetta has been allowed to reside in a halfway house.
If convicted, all defendants face a minimum sentence of ten years in prison, with a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to the DOJ.
