Fermin Daniel Puente-Montoya, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Louisiana 2023

New Orleans, LA - In a shocking turn of events, Fermin Daniel Puente-Montoya, a 32-year-old Mexican national, has pleaded guilty to federal drug and immigration charges in a New Orleans courtroom.

On September 26, 2023, Puente-Montoya entered a guilty plea to a three-count bill of information charging him with violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act and Illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien.

According to court documents, Puente-Montoya and two other co-conspirators conspired to transport an amount of methamphetamine from Houston, Texas to Kenner, Louisiana. Puente-Montoya furthered the conspiracy by transporting the methamphetamine from Houston to Kenner by personal vehicle. In the course of doing so, he was pulled over by law enforcement in Kenner who observed him giving the methamphetamine to his co-conspirators.

Puente-Montoya's actions were not his first run-in with the law. Prior to this drug trafficking conspiracy, he had been deported from the United States and reentered the country illegally.

Puente-Montoya is facing a maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release for Counts 1 and 2, which charge conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. For Count 3, which charges him with illegal reentry, Puente-Montoya faces up to two years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to one year of supervised release. Each individual count also requires payment of a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

United States Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kenner Police Department in bringing Puente-Montoya to justice. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit.

Fermin Daniel Puente-Montoya, age 32, pleaded guilty to a three-count bill of information charging him with violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act and Illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien.

Defendant: Fermin Daniel Puente-Montoya

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and Illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien

City and State: New Orleans, Louisiana

Exact Date: September 26, 2023

Sentence or Outcome: Puente-Montoya is facing a maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release

Dollar Amounts: Up to $1,000,000 fine, up to $250,000 fine, and $100 special assessment fee

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/pr/mexican-national-pleads-guilty-federal-drug-and-immigration-charges