FBI seeks Bernalillo County man in 72-kilogram fentanyl case

The FBI Albuquerque office is seeking Raymond Lawrence Gonzales, a Bernalillo County native accused in a fentanyl case that federal agents say began with a traffic stop and led to the recovery of about 72 kilograms of fentanyl pills. Prosecutors charged Gonzales with possession with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl, and a federal arrest warrant was issued in Albuquerque on June 25, 2024. At 72,000 grams, the load described by investigators was 180 times the 400-gram threshold.

The FBI says Gonzales was born March 17, 1965, in Bernalillo County and is also known as Mark Zamora and Lawrence. The wanted poster describes him as White and American, 5-foot-6 and 220 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, a tattoo on his right shoulder and a scar near his right eye. The bureau says he has ties to Mazatlan and Juarez, Mexico, and notes that he is known to have violent tendencies. Anyone who sees him should not approach and should contact law enforcement.

The case reflects the fentanyl pipeline that has run through New Mexico for years. On April 17, 2024, local law enforcement stopped a car driven by Gonzales in Albuquerque after it traveled from Arizona to the city. Investigators say the vehicle contained the massive fentanyl pill shipment, placing Bernalillo County squarely in the middle of an interstate trafficking route that feeds street sales and overdose risk across the region.

Federal officials have paired that local case with broader enforcement numbers that show how aggressively fentanyl is moving across the Southwest. In July 2024, the Justice Department said the Drug Enforcement Administration had seized more than 30 million fentanyl pills and more than 4,100 pounds of fentanyl powder that year, while arresting more than 2,100 people on fentanyl-related charges.

New Mexico has remained a major focus. In September 2022, the Albuquerque FBI Violent Gang Task Force said it seized more than 1 million fentanyl pills in one operation, along with $1.8 million in cash, 142 pounds of methamphetamine, 37 firearms, six vehicles and two hand grenades. In May 2025, federal authorities announced another operation that seized 396 kilograms of fentanyl pills in Albuquerque, along with $610,000 in cash and 49 firearms, and led to 16 arrests across multiple states.

For Bernalillo County, the Gonzales case is more than a fugitive hunt. It is another sign of how fentanyl, interstate transport and local enforcement continue to collide in Albuquerque, where one traffic stop can expose a supply chain measured in kilograms, not grams.