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Arizona DEA Defense Lawyers
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Arizona DEA Defense Lawyers
DEA agents just raided your Phoenix medical practice at 6 AM with a federal search warrant. They’re seizing your computers, prescription records, controlled substance logs – everything. Or you’re stopped at the Nogales port of entry with what they claim are illegal pills. Maybe you got swept up in Operation Double Down, the massive DEA enforcement action that’s been dismantling drug organizations across Arizona. Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second generation law firm with over 50 years of combined experience. Our managing partner, Todd Spodek, has many, many, years of experience defending individuals against DEA investigations and federal drug charges. Todd has represented clients in high-profile cases covered by NY Post, Newsweek, Fox 5, and other major outlets – including Anna Delvey and juror misconduct allegations in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. When DEA targets you in Arizona, they’ve already been building their case for months – sometimes years. Arizona is ground zero for the fentanyl crisis, with 44% of all fentanyl entering the U.S. through the Nogales Plaza alone. This is what’s happening. This is why Arizona is different from every other state. This is what we do RIGHT NOW to protect you from federal prison.
Arizona’s War Zone
Ground zero. Nogales Plaza. 44% of America’s fentanyl.
Arizona isn’t just another state – it’s the epicenter. Sergio “Gigio” Valenzuela’s plaza funnels it all. Operation Plaza Spike launched April 2024. March alone – 5 million pills seized at Nogales. By June – 418,000 pounds of drugs. 15,000 pounds pure fentanyl.
Operation Double Down. April to November 2024. DEA Phoenix, Phoenix Police, Arizona AG. Transnational organizations disrupted. $210,000 cash seized. Massive quantities. Phoenix and Tucson – staging grounds for nationwide distribution. Drugs move through Arizona, reach every corner of America. That’s why enforcement here crushes everyone else.
What is the federal mandatory minimum for drug trafficking? Catastrophic. 500 grams cocaine = 5-year mandatory minimum. 100 grams fentanyl – weight of small apple – five years federal prison. No exceptions. One kilogram fentanyl jumps to 10 years. Border crossing enhancements double, triple sentences. Under 21 U.S.C. § 841 and 21 U.S.C. § 960, importing across border stacks penalties. Surveillance overwhelming. Nogales, Lukeville, Douglas, San Luis ports. Advanced technology. License plates. Facial recognition. Cell data. Tohono O’odham Reservation – 75 miles of border, constant DEA presence. They’ve been watching months before you knew. The Fourth Amendment doesn’t exist at borders.
Federal Charges – Harshest in America
How much time do you get for a federal drug charge in Arizona? Recent sentencings tell everything. Lopez-Landeros: 14 years methamphetamine. Porras-Ochoa: 15 years cocaine, laundering. Peter Vega: 15 years, trafficking leader. Not maximums – typical outcomes. Timothy Courchaine, new U.S. Attorney, promised “more severe charges.” Delivering. 48% arrest increase.
What percentage of a sentence must be served? 85%. No parole federal system. 10-year sentence = 8.5 years minimum. Arizona state might allow parole half-time. Federal doesn’t. Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse Phoenix. Evo DeConcini Courthouse Tucson. Both exceed 95% conviction rates. Since January 2021 – 536 defendants OCDETF charges.
Government resources unlimited. DEA Phoenix coordinates FBI, CBP, HSI, ATF, Arizona DPS. $1.4 billion fentanyl seized 2024. Wiretaps. Informants every level. Mexican cooperation. Operation Double Down – year-long surveillance, financial records, intercepted communications.
Administrative state at worst. Border communities targeted. Enhanced penalties don’t apply rest of America. Phoenix doctor prescribing pain meds faces same minimums as cartels. Pharmacist filling legitimate scripts charged with smugglers. Many, many providers don’t understand proximity to border makes automatic targets. Government claims everyone within 100 miles Mexico part of drug trade.
Defense Timeline
What is a mandatory minimum federal sentence? Number judges can’t go below. Arizona border districts ruthlessly enforce. Timeline starts port entry – Nogales, Lukeville, Douglas, San Luis. CBP dogs alert. Or DEA tracking your prescriptions. Arrest fast. Investigation months old.
Immediate detention guaranteed. Federal magistrates presume flight risk border connections. Bail denied or impossible – $500,000, $1 million, more. Held Florence or Phoenix. Life crumbles outside. First appearance 72 hours. Discovery weeks away. Multi-defendant cases – most Arizona cases dozens people – cooperation race begins. First flip gets deal. 54-person conspiracies, being number 45 means everyone ahead trading information.
Pre-indictment intervention barely exists. Government invested too much border enforcement. But safety valve relief under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) offers hope. Qualify: minimal history, no violence, no leadership, truthful disclosure. Many, many defendants don’t understand safety valve must establish immediately. Wait too long, prosecutors claim untruthful. Window closes fast. Sinaloa versus Caborca war complicates everything. Prosecutors claim everyone connected. Your pharmacy? Sinaloa distribution. Medical practice near border? Obviously servicing cartels. Presumption innocence doesn’t exist when cartels mentioned.
Unlike other law firms who are more focused on their relationship with prosecutors and judges, Spodek Law Group brings nationwide federal experience to Arizona’s border dynamics. Todd Spodek, second-generation attorney. Complex multi-defendant conspiracies. We understand border enhancements, mandatory minimums, 44% fentanyl through single plaza. Operation Plaza Spike. Operation Double Down. Courchaine’s office. Time enemy. Government building case while you lived normally. Border crossings documented. Financial records subpoenaed. Communications intercepted. Daily more cooperate against you. Available 24/7. Border arrests round clock. Nogales midnight. Phoenix dawn. Tucson sealed indictment. Need immediate protection. Arizona federal charges different anywhere else America. Consultation risk-free. Waiting at border not. Government adding defendants daily. Controlled substances 100 miles Mexico? Already under investigation.
888-997-5177.