Andrés Palacios Duque, Methamphetamine and Cocaine Trafficking, California 2014

LOS ANGELES, CA – Andrés Palacios Duque, 51, of Mexico, was charged via a federal criminal complaint with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal. Duque was removed from the U.S. in 2009 and 2015.

His criminal history includes a 2014 conviction in Orange County Superior Court for transporting and possessing for sale methamphetamine, cocaine, and cocaine base, for which he was sentenced to five years in California state prison.

The crime of being found in the United States following removal carries a base sentence of up to two years in federal prison. Defendants who were removed after being convicted of a felony face a maximum 10-year sentence and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

Assistant United States Attorney Rosalind Wang of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.

Criminal complaints and indictments contain allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating these matters.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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