AKRON, Ohio – In a major victory against transnational drug trafficking, Dionicio Galindo-Salinas, a 49-year-old citizen of Mexico, has been sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison for his role in the distribution of over 100 pounds of cocaine from Texas to Ohio.
Galindo-Salinas was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine on April 28, 2025. The sentence was imposed on July 28, 2025.
Court records indicate that Galindo-Salinas had previously been removed from the United States but returned to engage in drug trafficking activities. Earl King, a 45-year-old Cleveland resident, regularly traveled over 1,600 miles to purchase bulk quantities of cocaine from Galindo-Salinas at the US-Mexico border. King then shipped the drugs back to Cleveland through UPS-Staples store in Brownsville, Texas.
Investigators discovered that King had been making these cross-border trips since approximately 2020, accumulating over 47 kilograms (more than 100 pounds) of cocaine from Galindo-Salinas during the conspiracy. The estimated street value of this amount of cocaine in Cleveland was more than $2 million at the time.
“Anyone who thinks they can use Northern Ohio as a marketplace to peddle illegal drugs on behalf of transnational criminal organizations will face consequences,” said U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio. “We are fully committed to protecting the public by aggressively enforcing federal laws to keep our communities safe.”
Galindo-Salinas is the fourth defendant to be convicted and sentenced in this investigation. Earl King, who was also involved in the conspiracy, was previously sentenced to 15 years in prison. Co-conspirator Curtis Anderson received a 25-year sentence after being convicted by a jury at trial, while Donnell Gochett was sentenced to over eight years in prison for providing shipping addresses in Cleveland.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the DEA Cleveland Field Office and the Cleveland Division of Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James P. Lewis and Yasmine Makridis prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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