FRESNO, Calif. — A Shafter man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 38 kilograms, or about 84 pounds, of cocaine, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
Jimmy Gil, aka Joselin Jimelet Gil Sanchez, aka Joselin Gil, aka Gilberto Sanchez, 35, of Shafter, pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle cocaine with Jose Luis Montoya-Salazar, aka Rafael Salazar-Sanchez (Montoya), 42, of Mexico City, and Luis Ricardo Eslava-Corral (Eslava), 42, of Sinaloa, Mexico.
According to court documents, Gil conspired with Eslava, the driver of a tractor trailer containing cocaine smuggled into the United States from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, to a location in Bakersfield.
As part of the plea agreement, Gil will forfeit $3.1 million in cash that drug agents seized during the investigation of the case.
The seized cocaine has a street value of over $3 million. Gil is scheduled to appear for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill in Fresno on July 27, 2015.
Gil faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine.
The charges against Montoya are still pending and are only allegations; Montoya is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Southern Tri-County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force, Kern County Sheriff’s Office, Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, and Bakersfield Police Department.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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