Carlos Orozco, 24, of El Paso, Texas, admitted in federal court today to hauling 40 kilograms of marijuana across state lines in a failed run through Gulfport, Mississippi. The plea, entered before U.S. District Court Judge Sul Ozerden, seals his fate in a high-stakes gamble that ended with vacuum-sealed bricks hidden in a rigged-up truck on Interstate 10.
On April 6, 2017, Orozco rode with co-conspirator Victor Legarda into Gulfport, wheels rolling toward a deal gone cold before it started. A Gulfport police officer pulled over the truck for a routine traffic stop—tag mismatched, red flag raised. Legarda, behind the wheel, radiated nerves. When asked, he agreed to a search. That’s when officers found the guts of the operation: hidden compartments packed with 100 vacuum-sealed bundles of marijuana.
Orozco didn’t resist for long. Once separated and questioned, he confirmed what the stash already screamed—he knew the drugs were there. No denials, no alibi. Just a quiet admission that he’d signed on to move a small mountain of pot across state lines, banking on invisibility. The bust, a joint takedown by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, Gulfport Police, and DEA, shut it down in minutes.
U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst didn’t mince words: “Drug traffickers who use Mississippi as a corridor will face federal time.” DEA Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam echoed the warning, calling the seizure a direct hit to cross-country smuggling networks feeding the illegal market.
Orozco now stares down a June 13, 2018 sentencing, where Judge Sul Ozerden can hand him up to 5 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. No parole in the federal system—just hard time for a crime built on speed, secrecy, and supply chains built to break.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk, a veteran in dismantling drug transportation rings. For Orozco, the road stops here—but the feds say the crackdown on interstate cartels is just picking up speed.
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Related Federal Cases
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- Six Men Charged in $5M Marijuana Conspiracy · Mississippi
Key Facts
- State: Mississippi
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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