BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A federal jury has returned a responsible verdict towards a Mexican citizen residing within the Brownsville space for conspiracy to ship cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, the U.S. lawyer introduced Alamdar S. Hamdani.
The jury deliberated for about three hours earlier than discovering Gilberto Almaraz-Muniz, 55, responsible of 1 rely of conspiracy and three counts of possession with intent to distribute varied managed substances after a five-day trial.
Regulation enforcement performed a narcotics seizure in Klegberg County on March 10, 2022. At the moment, authorities arrested co-conspirator Pedro Venegas Jr., 24, Brownsville. As soon as regulation enforcement seen tampering with the engine, they took their truck to a protected location to take away the engine manifold and different elements. The uncovered internal workings of the engine revealed 23 bundles of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. The truck's 6-cylinder engine had modifications to look like an 8-cylinder to maintain the medication hidden in these areas.
Additional proof confirmed co-conspirator Jetzrael Saldana, 25, Brownsville, recruited Venegas as a driver on behalf of Almaraz-Muniz who was a regulation enforcement officer in Mexico and operated as a drug provider. On the trial, witnesses testified that Almaraz-Muniz requested Saldana to recruit drivers to take drug masses previous the immigration checkpoint for distribution in Houston and different areas. Almaraz would get the automobiles to be titled within the drivers' names and have them make “dry runs” by means of the port of entry a number of instances earlier than hiding the medication within the automobile.
The jury additionally heard proof about two different drug busts the place Almaraz-Muniz employed drivers to ship narcotics. Seizures embrace 83 kilograms of liquid meth on the Gateway Worldwide Bridge in Brownsville on July 17, 2022, and a seizure of 24 kilograms of black tar heroin in Robstown on September 26, 2022.
“This case has eliminated greater than 100 kilograms from our roads,” Hamdani mentioned. “My workplace will proceed to prosecute not solely these people caught transporting harmful medication, but additionally those that provide and contain others within the illicit drug commerce.”
Venegas and Saldana pleaded responsible on June 1, 2022 and July 26, 2023, respectively, and their sentencing hearings are set for Could 1 and Could 8.
U.S. District Decide Rolando Olvera presided over the trial and set sentencing for July 17 for Almaraz-Muniz. At the moment, he faces as much as life in jail and a potential tremendous of as much as $10 million.
Almaraz-Muniz has been and stays in custody pending switch to a US Bureau of Prisons facility to be decided within the close to future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration performed the investigation with help from the South Texas Narcotics Process Power in Kingsville and Homeland Safety Investigations. Assistant US Attorneys Oscar Ponce and Victoria Aranda are prosecuting the case.
