Fentanyl sachets (Photo: Courtesy US Customs and Border Protection/via REUTERS)

two residents of Laredo, Texas received sentences for their involvement in conspiracy to possess (with intent to distribute) offenses 19 kilograms of methamphetamine Since Mexicothis was recently announced by US Federal Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

According to information released by the United States Attorney’s Office, (United States Attorney’s Office) those sentenced today have been identified as Antonio Ruiz37 years old, and Timothy Andrew Hernandez24, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import drugs.

For this reason, District Judge Micaela Álvarez determined that Antonio Ruiz should serve 30 years in prison, while Hernández was sentenced to 130 months in prison.

This is due to the fact that when issuing the sentences, the court pointed to the long criminal history of Ruiz, who had a history of illegal acts since he was 18 years old.

In this sense, it was pointed out that as an older parent of Andre HernandezRuiz should have taken him away from crime, instead of introducing him to it.

As revealed in the statement issued by the US authorities, after handing down the sentence, Ruiz assured that he was not the type of man who used or trafficked drugs and that the sentence was too long. However, the judge replied that sometimes you just have to do it once, so she didn’t change her sentence.

The arrest of the two people took place on May 7, 2022 during an undercover operation. According to official information, that day Ruiz met an undercover agent whom he believed to have hired.

Said agent drove a truck loaded with methamphetamine to a location Ruiz designated, at which point it would be picked up by Andrew Hernández.

Ruiz remained in the area to oversee the operation, guiding Hernández to the location of the vehicle and updating the driver on his progress. Upon arrival, the driver showed Hernandez the hidden compartment inside the truck where the meth was stored.

Hernández was then to drive the vehicle to another location in Laredo, where the drugs would be transferred to another vehicle. Another driver was then transporting the drugs in the UNITED STATES. The methamphetamine was 99% pure.

In the case of organized crime, the maximum duration of pre-trial detention is ten days;  and for the offenses of terrorism, espionage or illicit drug trafficking, it is fifteen days.
In the case of organized crime, the maximum duration of pre-trial detention is ten days; and for the offenses of terrorism, espionage or illicit drug trafficking, it is fifteen days.

Hernández and Ruiz were taken into custody after arrest warrants were issued for them on July 7 and September 9, 2022, respectively.

Both men will remain in custody pending transfer to a US Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Public Safety of Texas and the United Independent School District Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Homero Ramírez handled the case.

The sentences are added to that of Pedro Alejandro Rubio Perezwho was sentenced in a US court to 15 years in prison after being identified as the former head of a drug trafficking organization operating in Baja California.

The sentencing was handed down on January 11, 2023. According to a statement from the United States Department of Justice, Rubio Pérez’s sentencing was for “his role leading an international drug trafficking organization that transported more than 450 kilos of cocaine and 45,000 kilos of marijuana into the United States from Mexico.

It should be added that these tasks are part of the actions carried out bilaterally between Mexico and the United States to combat drug trafficking. According to US government agencies, Mexico is “the main source” of fentanyl trafficking.

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