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>Thirteen Drug Traffickers Sentenced to More than 235 Years Combined in Federal Prison
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 16, 2021
Thirteen Drug Traffickers Sentenced to More than 235 Years Combined in Federal Prison
Thirteen individuals with ties to a Mexican drug cartel have been sentenced to federal prison following an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah.
The thirteenth defendant, 30-year-old Jorge Llanas of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to a total of 28 years confinement on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Each defendant charged has pleaded guilty and sentenced to their respective roles in a drug distribution conspiracy and money laundering scheme that operated in North Texas, Mexico, and elsewhere from March of 2018 to August of 2018. These defendants were associates or members of a Dallas based drug trafficking organization with ties to a cartel in Mexico associated with the Zeta Cartel.
During the investigation, agents seized more than 55 kilos of cocaine with a wholesale value of $1,457,500, 92 kilos of methamphetamine with a wholesale value of $570,400, and 822.8 pounds of marijuana. Cash seizures in this case totaled $145,229.
According to court documents, some defendant’s in this case imported the cocaine and methamphetamine from a Mexican based drug cartel with prior ties to Los Zetas. Large quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana were then stored at an apartment located in the Dallas Design District. The defendants would sell drugs locally throughout the Dallas area before transporting the drug proceeds to other areas of the country. The money from the sale of these controlled substances was then sent back to cocaine and methamphetamine suppliers in Mexico.
“For years, Los Zetas, and its successor, El Cártel del Noreste, have tried to use the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex as a hub to distribute drugs throughout the United States,” stated DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez. “These convictions and prison terms should send a strong message to others that drug trafficking and its related violent crimes are not welcome here. DEA Dallas and our partners at the Texoma HIDTA as well as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, will continue to identify, disrupt, and destroy, these criminal organizations that choose to distribute drugs to our streets.”
The defendants sentenced in connection with this case are as follows:
Chrystian Hernandez, 23, Dallas, Texas
Sentenced on October 8, 2020 to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiring to launder monetary instruments.
Veronica Angeles, 51, Fort Worth, Texas
Sentenced on September 28, 2020 to 97 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Jose Sanchez, 36, of Little Elm, Texas
Sentenced on June 25, 2020 to 151 months in federal prison for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Cesar Ortiz, 40, Chihuahua, Mexico
Sentenced on September 8, 2020 to 46 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder monetary instruments.
Jakovan Lewis, 39, Desoto, Texas
Sentenced on September 2, 2020 to 70 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Roberto Rodriguez Salinas, 39, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Sentenced on June 12, 2020 to 57 months in federal prison for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute.
Marcus Morones, 58, Dallas, Texas
Sentenced 0n May 6, 2020 to 41 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Jose Guadalupe Silva, 32, Dallas, Texas
Sentenced on August 23, 2019, to 210 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Moris Franco, 34, Dallas, Texas
Sentenced on March 3, 2021 to 135 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Daniel Don Juan, 30, Cleburne, Texas
Sentenced on March 16, 2021 to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Tomas Salinas, 51, Dallas, Texas
Sentenced on March 17, 2021 to 210 months in federal prison for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Pete Torres, 31, Dallas, Texas
Sentenced on March 25, 2021 to 46 months in federal prison for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.