Sergio Lopez-Granillo, Methamphetamine Distribution, Iowa 2017

A Sioux Center man was sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in a massive methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

Sergio Lopez-Granillo, 25, received the prison term after a guilty plea on January 26, 2017, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At his guilty plea hearing, Lopez-Granillo admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that distributed at least 1,500 grams of actual methamphetamine from 2015 through September 2016 in Minnesota and Iowa.

Lopez-Granillo admitted he repeatedly purchased 1 to 2 ounces of methamphetamine for a total of nearly 25 pounds from Rogelio Garcia-Jimenez in Worthington, MN for redistribution/use in Iowa over the course of about three years ending in 2016. Lopez-Granillo also admitted to distributing methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement on a number of occasions.

Lopez-Granillo was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Lopez-Granillo was sentenced to 61 months' imprisonment. A special assessment of $300 was imposed. He must also serve a 2-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Lopez-Granillo is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement; Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; Buffalo Ridge Task Force; and Internal Revenue Service.

Lopez-Granillo's sentencing is a major victory for law enforcement in the fight against methamphetamine trafficking in Iowa and Minnesota.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/iowa-man-sentenced-federal-prison-iowa-minnesota-meth-conspiracy