Harrisburg Man Convicted of Running Massive Marijuana Smuggling Ring
HARRISBURG, PA – In a massive blow to the city’s underworld, 36-year-old Christopher Texidor, a Harrisburg resident, has been convicted of running a massive marijuana smuggling operation that brought thousands of pounds of the illicit substance into the Harrisburg area.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Texidor and his co-defendants operated the smuggling ring out of a used car lot on Paxton Street in Harrisburg between October 2018 and May 2020. The operation used the U.S. Mail to transport hundreds of parcels containing marijuana from a source in California to Harrisburg, with tens of thousands of dollars in cash mailed back to the source.
The scheme was so sophisticated that Texidor and his co-defendants used GPS tracking devices to keep tabs on their shipments, with over 9,000 pounds of suspected marijuana parcels worth millions of dollars being brought into the Harrisburg area.
But the operation wasn’t without its problems. A thief began stealing marijuana from the parcels, prompting Texidor and his co-defendants to hire gunmen to stop the thefts. The gunmen went on a violent rampage, shooting up a truck in Harrisburg, shooting into an occupied home in Susquehanna Township, and robbing a suspect at gunpoint in Highspire.
The jury convicted Texidor of conspiracy to traffic more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, conspiracy to use a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, use of a means in interstate communication to commit a crime of violence, and drug trafficking. Sentencing has not been scheduled.
Texidor’s co-defendants, including William Kuduk, Jonathan Cobaugh, Justin Laboy, Jose Laboy, and Julio Arellano, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Codefendant Jamie Valenzuela, the marijuana source from California, was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, and the Susquehanna Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael A. Consiglio and Scott Ford prosecuted the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
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- Susquehanna Township Man Gets 9 Years for Role in $Million Marijuana Ring · Pennsylvania
- Leader in Latrobe Homes Marijuana Ring Sentenced to 10 Years · Maryland
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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