DAYTON, Ohio – An illegal alien from Mexico pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to participating in a narcotics conspiracy that involved approximately a kilogram of fentanyl being brought to the Dayton area from Philadelphia. He separately pleaded to an immigration offense charging him with eluding inspection of immigration authorities.
Luis Gomez-Andres, 27, and Jonathan Salomon-Muguel, 22, of Dayton, were caught traveling with approximately a kilogram of fentanyl they obtained in Philadelphia to bring back to Dayton.
According to charging documents, in September 2025, Gomez-Andres was stopped for a traffic violation by law enforcement in Dayton, Ohio, and discovered to be illegally in the United States. Soon thereafter, immigration authorities returned Gomez-Andres to his country of citizenship.
Four months later, in January 2026, law enforcement developed information that Gomez-Andres illegally had returned to the United States. Based on that information, federal agents obtained an arrest warrant against Gomez-Andres for a criminal immigration offense and began to search for him in the community.
On Jan. 21, 2026, as federal agents continued their search, Gomez-Andres was stopped in a vehicle for a traffic violation in the state of Delaware. Salomon-Muguel was with him. During a search of their vehicle, officers discovered hidden within it a black metal safe containing bulk fentanyl bound for Dayton, Ohio.
The narcotics conspiracy in this case is punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison. Charges remain pending against Salomon-Muguel.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Joseph O. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Rob Painter is representing the United States in this case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America , a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Southern District of Ohio — U.S. Department of Justice press release.