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Phoenix man sentenced to 35 years for role in drug trafficking organization

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A Phoenix man has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for his role as an enforcer in a transnational drug trafficking organization that brought fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into Pennsylvania and across the country.

According to the Department of Justice, 30-year-old Carlos Zamora was one of two defendants convicted by a jury in September 2025.

Zamora was sentenced on Wednesday, June 17, to 35 years in prison followed by five years of parole.

The DOJ says Zamora was a member of the Monarrez Drug Trafficking Organization, a Phoenix-based criminal network that prosecutors say was responsible for flooding communities across the country with drugs from August 2021 to June 2023.

On December 25, 2022, investigators raided a rental property in Scottsdale and found 28 kilograms of fentanyl pills, 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 3 kilograms of cocaine, 48 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 20 firearms.

Weeks later, on January 11, 2023, a search of co-defendant Bryce Hill's apartment in Seattle turned up 27 kilograms of fentanyl pills, multiple firearms, and $387,000 in cash.

Hill, who was convicted alongside Zamora, was sentenced in February 2026 to 35 years in prison.

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Prosecutors say Zamora carried out a drive-by-shooting on January 8, 2023, in Phoenix. He fired more than 3 dozen shots and hit the wrong person.

The day after the shooting, investigators intercepted a phone call in which Zamora discussed what he had done with one of the organization's leaders.

Law enforcement searched Zamora's home, where they recovered a gun and matched shell casings to the ones recovered from the shooting scene.

Zamora was one of 35 people charged for their participation in a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy involving a large amount of drugs.