Anthony Harrison Bell, Cocaine and Marijuana Smuggling, TX 2024

Anthony Harrison Bell, a/k/a ‘Pajaro,’ a 58-year-old former pilot for the Jose Paz Garcia drug trafficking organization (DTO), was sentenced today to 168 months in federal prison after spending 17 years on the run. The Dallas resident admitted to smuggling massive loads of cocaine and marijuana across state lines in private aircraft, enabling one of the Southwest’s most violent drug networks to expand its reach.

Bell pleaded guilty in October 1995 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine, but vanished before sentencing. He resurfaced in 2013 when arrested in south Florida, closing a two-decade chapter in a case that exposed the aerial logistics of cartel operations. Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn handed down the sentence in Dallas, holding Bell accountable for his role in a deadly smuggling pipeline.

Between June 1994 and August 1995, Bell flew multiple drug-laden missions for Jose Paz Garcia, transporting narcotics from El Paso to Dallas and beyond. He also shuttled cash earned from drug sales back to Garcia and his associates, cementing his role as a trusted courier in the DTO’s operation. His aircraft—a Cessna 310L and later a Cessna 210—became flying mules for the cartel.

According to court documents, Bell flew 10 kilograms of cocaine from El Paso to Dallas on June 1, 1995. Days later, he and co-conspirator Miguel Robles hauled 140 pounds of marijuana, which Bell then flew to Nebraska, Colorado, and Ohio for redistribution. On June 30, he transported 104 pounds of marijuana to Columbus, Ohio. Then, on July 12, Bell flew 173 pounds of marijuana from Dallas to Detroit—another payload fueling the nation’s drug epidemic.

Garcia, the ringleader, was convicted at trial in May 1996 and sentenced to life in federal prison. His DTO dismantled in the mid-90s, but fugitives like Bell kept the case alive for decades. Bell’s capture proved that even the most elusive operatives aren’t safe from federal reach—eventually.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation, peeling back layers of a network that exploited aviation for criminal gain. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Revesz prosecuted the case, underscoring the federal government’s long arm in organized crime. Bell now begins his 14-year sentence, paying for years spent above the law—both literally and figuratively.