SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Three undocumented Mexican nationals, living in Utah, appeared in court today after they were indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with multiple drug crimes. The charges come after law enforcement seized large quantities of fentanyl and heroin from defendants’ homes and hidden compartments of their vehicles.
Silvano Gonzalez Venavidez, aka Eduardo Torres-Zepeda, 34; Edgar Ulises Torres Cervantes, aka Juan Maldonado Garcia, 38; and Carlos Roberto Limon Martinez, 21, all from Mexico, living in Salt Lake City were charged by complaint on January 15, 2026.
According to the allegations in court documents, beginning in November 2025, the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force (WMDTF) initiated a criminal investigation into Venavidez, Cervantes, and Martinez and other members of a drug trafficking organization. Agents believed the defendants and the organization were distributing large quantities of narcotics into Utah. On January 13, 2026, agents executed search warrants on residences and vehicles believed to be used for drug trafficking by Venavidez, Cervantes, and Martinez. Agents first located Martinez in his vehicle and seized approximately 135.08 grams of field-tested positive heroin and 513.35 grams of field-tested fentanyl (approximately 5,000 fentanyl pills) in a concealed area of the vehicle. Agents also seized approximately 1472.49 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl (approximately 14,000 fentanyl pills) and 427.03 grams of field-tested positive heroin.
As alleged in court documents, during a subsequent search of Venavidez’s residence, agents located approximately 14,982 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl (approximately 150,000 fentanyl pills) and 427.03 grams of field-tested heroin. Lastly, according to court documents, agents located Cervantes in his vehicle and seized approximately 204.54 grams of field-tested positive heroin and 879.04 grams of field-tested fentanyl (approximately 8,000 fentanyl pills) in a concealed compartment of the vehicle.
Venavidez, Cervantes, and Martinez are charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute heroin, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. A three-day jury trial is scheduled for April 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. in courtroom 8.3 before a U.S. District Court Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter Reichman of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the 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.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Utah — U.S. Department of Justice press release.