11,000 Pounds of Marijuana, 17 Years on the Run: Tucson Fugitive Jorge Lamadrid-Carranza Returned to Arizona From Playa del Carmen
Jorge Lamadrid-Carranza, a man wanted in Arizona and Michigan since 2009 in large-scale marijuana cases, was returned to Arizona from Mexico on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, nearly three years after Mexican authorities arrested him in Playa del Carmen, according to the U.S. Marshals Service as reported by KVOA, KOLD and KTAR on Sept. 25. Court records have described alleged ties between members of his family and the Sinaloa cartel, KVOA reported; the reports do not say he himself has been charged with a cartel-related crime.
A 2007 Tucson bust worth $5.5 million
According to KVOA, Lamadrid-Carranza was arrested in Tucson in September 2007 during an investigation in which authorities seized nearly 11,000 pounds of marijuana from a vehicle and a home, valued at the time at about $5.5 million. The home had been modified with commercial equipment for refrigerated storage and processing, the station reported. A detective later testified that records indicated the broader operation handled roughly $61 million worth of marijuana over a period of months.
Guilty plea in Michigan, then gone
After a 2008 arrest in a federal case in Michigan, he posted a $10,000 bond and returned to Arizona, KVOA reported. He pleaded guilty in March 2009 to conspiracy to distribute marijuana in a case involving nearly four tons of the drug from 2001 to 2004, but a federal warrant was issued in August 2009 when he failed to appear for sentencing.
In a separate Arizona case, prosecutors withdrew a plea agreement and tried him in his absence on 18 felony charges tied to an alleged large-scale marijuana distribution operation, and Pima County Superior Court issued a failure-to-appear warrant on Sept. 17, 2009, KVOA reported.
“Time and distance” did not end the hunt
“Lamadrid-Carranza’s arrest in Mexico and return to Arizona took years of persistence and cooperation across borders,” U.S. Marshal Van Bayless for the District of Arizona said, as quoted by KVOA and KTAR. “Time and distance did not end our commitment to seeing these cases addressed.”
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover told KVOA that Josh Moser, who originally prosecuted the 2009 case, is now the office’s chief criminal deputy. The Marshals Service is coordinating with Pima County and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan on the warrants and next court steps, the station reported.
Sources
- KVOA: Pima County fugitive returned to face charges after Mexico arrest (Sept. 25, 2026)
- KOLD News 13: Fugitive wanted in Arizona drug case returned from Mexico after nearly 20 years (Sept. 25, 2026)
- KTAR: Fugitive drug distributor captured in Mexico, returned to Arizona after 17 years on run (Sept. 25, 2026)
- Photos: U.S. Marshals Service, via KOLD News 13; Pima County Courthouse by Michael Barera via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Reported Sept. 25, 2026, from local news accounts of a U.S. Marshals Service announcement. The alleged Sinaloa cartel ties described in court records concern members of his family; he has not been sentenced in the Michigan case, and the 18 Arizona charges are allegations unless and until proven in court.