Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies and multiple law enforcement agencies raided a warehouse in Avondale on Tuesday, busting a cocaine ring and seizing hundreds of pounds of drugs, officials said. The operation, part of a year-long multi-agency investigation called Operation Mechanic, targeted cartel influence in Arizona’s drug trade by dismantling high-level trafficking networks, authorities confirmed.
The multi-agency operation, known as Operation Mechanic, ran from April 2025 through January 2026 and involved thousands of man-hours dedicated to dismantling high-level cartel trafficking networks in Maricopa County, officials said. The effort was led by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Tempe, Buckeye, and Surprise police departments, as well as the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Financial Crimes Task Force, according to MCSO and DEA statements.
Records show that one warrant executed in the Phoenix area yielded 1,609 pounds of meth alone.
During the Avondale warehouse raid on Tuesday, deputies seized hundreds of pounds of cocaine along with other narcotics, part of a broader haul that included over 1,800 pounds of methamphetamine recovered throughout the operation. Additionally, authorities confiscated 161 pounds of fentanyl pills—approximately 735,000 pills—and 47 pounds of fentanyl powder from a residential search, sources confirmed. Nearly 35,000 fentanyl pills were also seized in a related bust in Avondale. The estimated street value of the drugs seized in one bust alone exceeded $3.4 million in Arizona, with higher values expected if trafficked to eastern states, according to DEA officials.
In addition to narcotics, law enforcement recovered more than $500,000 in illicit cash proceeds, with MCSO reporting $553,000 seized during the operation. The Avondale drug bust included a separate $300,000 cash seizure linked to fentanyl distribution. Authorities also confiscated nearly two dozen firearms and multiple vehicles during the west Valley investigation, sources said. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and cryptocurrency were seized as part of the overall crackdown, according to records from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
The investigation resulted in 35 individuals being charged as top-line cartel executives, with indictments secured by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office under Attorney General Chris Mays. Three suspects arrested in the Avondale bust were identified as Aaron Camacho, Samantha Perry, and Jose Arvayo, all facing fentanyl distribution charges. Officials said the arrests were made possible through wiretaps that monitored cartel phone conversations at every organizational level, a tactic that was key to unraveling the trafficking networks.
The operation’s timeline included a residential search warrant executed on January 27, 2026, following a traffic stop in which deputies seized 50 pounds of methamphetamine, according to DEA press releases and law enforcement sources. Warrants tied to the Avondale bust were served at Phoenix-area homes on the same date. The investigation itself began in December 2021 and involved continuous collaboration among multi-agency detectives over the course of more than a year.
Sheriff Jerry Sheridan emphasized that Operation Mechanic specifically targeted high-level cartel executives to disrupt their influence on Arizona’s drug trade. The operation’s results were unveiled early Wednesday morning at a press event held at MCSO headquarters, where seized drugs, cash, firearms, and other assets were displayed on tables for media and officials.
Law enforcement sources confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing, with additional arrests and indictments expected as authorities continue to dismantle large-scale trafficking organizations operating throughout Maricopa County and the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
Comments are closed.