A Phoenix man has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for his role as an enforcer in a transnational drug trafficking operation that transported fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine to Pennsylvania and across the country.
According to the Department of Justice, Carlos Zamora, 30, was one of two defendants convicted by a jury in September 2025.
On Wednesday, June 17, Zamora was sentenced to 35 years in jail, followed by five years on parole.
According to the DOJ, Zamora was a part of the Monarrez Drug Trafficking Organization, a Phoenix-based criminal network accused by prosecutors of flooding communities across the country with drugs between August 2021 and June 2023.
On December 25, 2022, investigators raided a rental home in Scottsdale and discovered 28 kilograms of fentanyl pills, 7.5 kilos of fentanyl powder, 3 kilograms of cocaine, 48 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 20 guns.
Weeks later, on January 11, 2023, a search of co-defendant Bryce Hill’s Seattle apartment yielded 27 kg of fentanyl tablets, several guns, and $387,000 in cash.
Hill, who was convicted alongside Zamora, received a 35-year sentence in February 2026.
Prosecutors claim Zamora committed a drive-by shooting on January 8, 2023, in Phoenix. He fired almost three dozen shots and struck the wrong guy.
The day after the shooting, detectives intercepted a phone call in which Zamora discussed his actions with one of the organization’s leaders.
Law officials investigated Zamora’s residence and discovered a gun and shot casings that matched those found from the crime location.
Zamora was one of 35 people charged with involvement in a large-scale narcotics and money laundering scheme on both the domestic and international levels.
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