Related Federal Cases
- 250 New Immigrant Cases Hit Texas U.S. Attys’ Office · Texas
- Terror Cartel Leader Busted in Texas: Tren de Aragua’s Fall · New Mexico
- XPLOR Energy Hit with $3.1M Fine for Clean Water Act Violation · Oklahoma
- Rialto Resident Angie Dang Sentenced for Port Arthur Drug Trafficking · Texas
- Gulf Cartel Boss Juan Francisco Saenz-Tamez Pleads Guilty in Texas Drug Case · Texas
Twelve CJNG Cartel Members Sentenced for Drug Trafficking
Twelve drug traffickers tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel have been sentenced to between four and a half and 40 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. The defendants were convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and other related charges.
Francisco Javier Rodriguez Arreola, a top source of supply charged in the case, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Mr. Rodriguez Arreola, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen born in Michoacan, was arrested in 2021 in Del Rio, Texas while illegally reentering the United States from Mexico after having been previously deported.
In plea papers, the defendant admitted that he helped coordinate the shipment of a load of 199.97 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine – with a street value of up to $9.9 million – from Mexico to Dallas concealed inside the diesel tank of a red semi-truck.
During the course of the investigation, court-authorized wiretaps caught Mr. Rodriguez Arreola, who went by the street names “Taquito” and “Viejo” (“Old”), communicating with codefendants in code about the movement and sale of controlled substances.
Courtroom testimony revealed that Mr. Rodriguez Arreola had previously served time in federal prison and that he was deported to Mexico in April of 2020. Less than a month after being deported, he was back in the drug trade when, in May of 2020, he and a codefendant discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic was slowing down the movement and sale of controlled substances. The defendant stated the pandemic was causing the price of methamphetamine to increase and he was heard saying he hoped the price of a kilogram of methamphetamine would go up, as it had once sold for $14,000.
At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced evidence that showed that Mr. Rodriguez Arreola coordinated multiple deliveries of methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most violent and powerful drug cartels. During the hearing, Mr. Rodriguez Arreola was identified as a person who had access to the higher echelons of the CJNG because he associated with individuals who reported directly to the cartel’s leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a.k.a. El Mencho.
Agent testimony revealed that the defendant served the CJNG as a broker of methamphetamine and that he had significant ties to Plaza Bosses who had access to cartel leadership. Mr. Rodriguez-Arreola’s role included finding drivers and people who could transport and distribute methamphetamine, planning routes, confirming delivery, loss prevention, and finding locations to receive, store, and transfer methamphetamine shipments.
Other defendants sentenced include:
- Ricardo Hernandez Zarate, sentenced to 480 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and 240 months in prison for money laundering (concurrent sentences)
- Pedro Hernandez Zarate, sentenced to 360 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
- Uriel Marin Gaona, sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
- Benito Diaz Hernandez, sentenced to 210 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
- Marcos Garcia Reyes, sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled
- Heleodoro Rosales Ramirez, sentenced to 16 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
