Two women from Las Vegas are being held in Miami-Dade County after being suspected of helping ship nearly five pounds of methamphetamine across the country. The claimed pipeline was based on USPS shipments, covert purchases, and electronic payments rather than a single dramatic bust. Both women were detained Thursday, marking the culmination of a year-long investigation.
According to Local 10 News, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrested Maguadalupe Barajas Sandoval, 66, and Cynthia Leslie Hurtado, 35. The case involved investigators from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Authorities began investigating the alleged organization in July 2025, after obtaining information about multi-pound meth shipments traveling from Las Vegas to the Miami region.
The inquiry culminated in June, when officials intercepted two USPS Priority Mail Express parcels sent to undercover agents in Miami. One box reportedly contained about 1,425 grams of suspected methamphetamine, or roughly three pounds, while the other contained about 955 grams, or nearly two pounds. Investigators stated that many previous shipments tested positive for methamphetamine.
The suspected transactions went beyond the mailroom. Undercover investigators made several drug purchases, transferred funds through Zelle accounts linked to members of the accused organization, and spoke with Sandoval, Hurtado, and other suspects about shipments and payment arrangements.
The arrests come as law enforcement agencies continue to target drug networks that exploit standard shipping routes to transport narcotics between Nevada and South Florida. In a separate case revealed in May, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida charged a Las Vegas man and a Chinese citizen in an alleged protonitazene importation scam. Prosecutors claimed that an associate in Miami-Dade used pill presses to manufacture counterfeit pills, and that the alleged network also used the Postal Service to transport drugs between Florida and Nevada.
Sandoval is charged with five counts of restricted substance importation into Florida, trafficking more than 200 grams of amphetamine, and unauthorized use of a communication device, according to Local 10 News. Hurtado faces four counts of the same allegations. Sandoval was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Friday on a $1.025 million bond, while Hurtado’s bond was set at $820,000.
The charges are allegations, and a criminal complaint or arrest report does not constitute a finding of guilt. As authorities continue to investigate the accused group and its members, new arrests or charges may be issued.
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