12 cartel members sentenced for trafficking of drugs from Mexico to Dallas

Nicole Lopez
·3 min read
4

Twelve defendants tied to a Mexican drug cartel were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to 40 years on drug charges, Leigha Simonton, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District, announced in a news release Tuesday.

Francisco Javier Rodriguez Arreola, a top source of supply charged in the case, was sentenced to 40 years on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Arreola, 45, of Michoacan, was arrested in 2021 in Del Rio while illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico after having been previously deported.

Rodriguez Arreola admitted he helped coordinate a shipment containing 199.97 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine — worth a street value of $9.9 million — from Mexico to Dallas, according to plea papers.

Wiretaps caught Rodriguez Arreola communicating with co-defendants in code about the movement and sale of controlled substances, the investigation found.

Rodriguez Arreola previously served time in federal prison and was deported to Mexico in April 2020, according to the release. Less than a month after being deported, he was back in the drug trade.

At a Tuesday hearing, prosecutors presented evidence that showed Rodriguez Arreola also coordinated multiple deliveries of meth from Mexico to the U.S. on behalf of the cartel.

Testimony also showed that he was a broker of meth and had ties to cartel leadership, according to the release. Rodriguez Arreola’s role included finding drivers and people who could transport and distribute meth, planning routes, confirming deliveries, loss prevention, and finding locations to receive, store, and transfer shipments containing meth, the release says.

The hearing further revealed Rodriguez Arreola had access to counterintelligence information provided by the cartel because he told a co-defendant that they needed drivers that were U.S. residents to transport the drugs because no drivers with visas could cross the border with shipments, according to the release.

Other defendants sentenced included:

  • Ricardo Hernandez Zarate, sentenced to 480 months in prison on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and 240 months in prison on a money laundering charge, to be served concurrently

  • Pedro Hernandez Zarate, sentenced to 360 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Uriel Marin Gaona, sentenced to 120 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Benito Diaz Hernandez, sentenced to 210 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Marcos Garcia Reyes, sentenced to 87 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Heleodoro Rosales Ramirez, sentenced to 168 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Rafael Diaz, sentenced to 60 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Jose Alberto Plascencia Torres, sentenced to 292 months on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Elmer Gardea Tello, sentenced to 55 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Walter Daniel Chapa Marty, sentenced to 121 months on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

  • Salvador Antonio Martinez, sentenced to 151 months on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

During the investigation, authorities seized about 650 kilograms of meth, 17 firearms, $220,922, and $12,200 in real and personal property.