A Texas court has sentenced Baltazar Ibarra Cardona to 120 months in federal prison for his role in a large-scale marijuana trafficking operation in Laredo, Texas.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Cardona, 55, was a commercial truck driver who transported marijuana from Laredo to Dallas for $15,000 per trip.
On October 10, 2011, Cardona was stopped by a Zavala County deputy for an expired driver’s license and insurance. A search of the tractor trailer revealed 1,858 kilograms of marijuana.
Cardona’s arrest was part of a long-term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Investigation, dubbed Operation Trena Sin Trono, which targeted a drug trafficking organization led by Erasmo Trejo-Nava.
Trejo-Nava’s organization received marijuana loads from Mexico and arranged to transport the marijuana to the Dallas area using various stash houses and business fronts in the Laredo area.
Cardona was one of several truck drivers used by the organization to transport marijuana from Laredo to Dallas. His sentencing is the latest development in a case that has already seen several defendants plead guilty or be convicted at trial.
The remaining 17 defendants in the case are still awaiting sentencing. The charges against them include conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and conspiracy to launder drug proceeds.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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