Romeo Eduardo Barrera, Drug Trafficking, Texas 2002

A 42-year-old Roma man has been brought to justice after 14 years on the run for his role in a major drug trafficking operation in Texas.

Romeo Eduardo Barrera pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute over 1000 kg of marijuana, as well as aiding and abetting the possession of marijuana.

The investigation into Barrera’s activities began in March 2002, when authorities discovered a suspected narcotics trafficking operation at a Holiday Inn Express Hotel in the Houston area.

Surveillance revealed that Barrera had arrived at the hotel and eventually left with two others, leading investigators to a residence on Northfield in Houston.

There, agents watched Barrera and seven other defendants entering and exiting the residence, using trash cans to remove large bales of marijuana and load them into a van parked nearby.

Barrera fled the scene, but was arrested shortly thereafter on a nearby street, with 386.6 grams of marijuana wrapped in clear cellophane and a yellow sheet of paper with figures written on it.

In total, authorities found 31 cellophane-wrapped bales of marijuana weighing approximately 1644 pounds, as well as 19 cellophane-wrapped bales weighing 928.55 pounds in a parked van.

Barrera faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, as well as a possible $10 million fine, at his sentencing hearing on January 18, 2018.

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