Martin Martinez Saldana, Methamphetamine Trafficking, North Carolina 2023

A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict against Martin Martinez Saldana, 44, of West Jefferson, North Carolina, in a four-day trial that ended on May 2023.

According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, Saldana and his co-conspirators distributed over 20 pounds of near-pure crystal methamphetamine, also known as ‘ice,’ in Ashe County and elsewhere from 2011 to the end of 2012.

The high level of purity of the methamphetamine indicates it originated from a Mexican ‘super lab’ and had an estimated street-level value of more than $1 million.

The evidence at trial also established that when law enforcement executed a search warrant at Saldana’s residence, they seized four handguns, including a revolver hidden under his mattress, and an illegal short-barreled shotgun, as well as ammunition.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement also seized five real properties in Ashe County worth over $500,000 combined, $50,000 in cash, one vehicle, one-quarter kilogram of methamphetamine ‘ice,’ and drug packaging materials.

Law enforcement arrested Saldana on December 12, 2012, as he was planning to leave for Mexico. He has been in federal custody since his arrest and will remain in custody until his sentencing date, which has not yet been set.

The charges levied against Saldana carry a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000,000.

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