Benito Aguilar-Ozuna, Cocaine Trafficking, Texas 2013

Defendant Sentenced in Large-Scale Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In a major blow to the Zetas drug cartel, a Mexican citizen has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for his role in a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

Benito Aguilar-Ozuna, aka ‘Pichollo,’ pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine on January 25, 2013. On Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack handed down a sentence of 235 months in prison.

Aguilar-Ozuna, a trusted associate of Carlos Alberto Oliva-Castillo, aka ‘La Rana,’ oversaw the importation of cocaine from Mexico and its distribution to cells in Texas, Florida, California, Oregon, Georgia, and Illinois. The organization was responsible for the transportation of narcotics proceeds in the hundreds of millions from the United States to Mexico.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately 174 kilograms of cocaine from members of this organization. Aguilar-Ozuna is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.

The investigation began in 2006 when law enforcement authorities discovered a narcotics importer/distributor based in Robstown for whom Oliva-Castillo was the source of supply. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force in Corpus Christi led the investigation, which involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Corpus Christi Police Department, United States Border Patrol, and the United States Marshals Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie K. Hampton. Aguilar-Ozuna was extradited to the U.S. late last year and was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in an indictment returned November 25, 2008. He was charged along with three others, including Oliva-Castillo, who was arrested in October 2011 in Mexico and is known as the number three figure in the Zetas drug cartel at the time of his arrest.

Aguilar-Ozuna’s sentence marks a significant victory in the ongoing fight against the Zetas cartel and its operatives in the United States. As the investigation continues, authorities remain committed to disrupting the cartel’s operations and bringing its leaders to justice.

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