Meth Kingpin Gets 10 Years Behind Bars

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A California man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a major methamphetamine trafficking operation in North Carolina.

Alberto Diaz-Fernandez, 55, of Santa Ana, California, was sentenced to 121 months in prison and four years of supervised release on drug conspiracy charges, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

The investigation, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), uncovered a shipment of methamphetamine hidden within an aftermarket compartment in a shipping pallet. The pallet, which originated in Santa Ana, was destined for delivery to an automotive shop in the Charlotte area.

According to court records, DEA agents located the shipment and executed a search warrant, seizing approximately five kilograms of methamphetamine on February 3, 2016. Diaz-Fernandez, who was waiting in front of the automotive shop, was approached by law enforcement and told them he was expecting an engine he had shipped from California to be delivered on that date. He later admitted to shipping the hidden drugs “for dangerous people in Mexico.”

Diaz-Fernandez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in March 2016. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The defendant will also be subject to deportation proceedings upon the completion of his federal sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case, which was handled by the DEA and CMPD.

The sentence is a significant blow to the methamphetamine trafficking ring, which was responsible for bringing large quantities of the deadly drug into the Charlotte area. The DEA and CMPD worked tirelessly to bring Diaz-Fernandez to justice, and their efforts have made the community a safer place.