Defendants in El Paso Crystal Meth Distribution Ring Sentenced to Lengthy Federal Prison Terms

In El Paso, ten individuals have been sentenced to federal prison in connection with a “crystal” methamphetamine distribution scheme announced Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, El Paso Division.

On Tuesday, United States District Judge Kathleen Cardone sentenced 44–year-old Edwardo Rodriguez of El Paso to 250 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.  Before sentencing  Rodriguez, Judge Cardone sentenced nine of his co-defendants to terms of imprisonment ranging from 180 months to 18 months. All ten pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

By pleading guilty, the defendants admitted to trafficking methamphetamine between January and June 2014.  According to court records, Rodriguez and the others conspired to distribute methamphetamine from Mexico, into El Paso, and ultimately to destinations across the United States including California, Illinois and Georgia. During this investigation, authorities seized approximately five kilograms of methamphetamine attributed to this organization—3.5 kilograms of which was considered 99% pure.

This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) together with the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering operations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.