The U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 11 announced a Sanaloa Cartel drug trafficker and money launder was sentenced to prison after a nearly decade-long search.
Roberto Gallegos-Lechuga received more than 15 years in federal prison, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) press release.
“This sentencing is the culmination of years of relentless work by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and its partners targeting the Sinaloa Cartel,” Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz of HSI San Diego said, according to the release. “This investigation highlights HSI’s dedication to go after both cartel drug trafficking and money laundering activity. The sentencing sends a resounding message to Transnational Criminal Organizations that HSI and our partners are unyielding in our pursuit of justice.”
Gallegos had a role in supervising and managing couriers that smuggled drugs through the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the release.
“This defendant was part of a violent transnational criminal organization that posed a danger to our communities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, according to the release. “We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those who export dangerous narcotics to the United States and finance those activities through money laundering. I want to thank the Government of Mexico for extraditing Gallegos-Lechuga to the United States. Through such partnerships, we will continue to work to dismantle dangerous drug cartels.”
Another seven defendants have pleaded guilty in the case and were sentenced as of January 2022, according to a release by the Justice Department.
The Office of International Affairs worked with partners in Mexico to secure the arrest as well as the extradition of Gallegos-Lechuga, according to the Justice Department.
“Those who manage drug trafficking and money laundering efforts for the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most violent criminal organizations in the world, will continue to face justice in this district,” said Randy Grossman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, according to the release. “Stopping the flow of funds to drug cartels and of deadly drugs into the United States continues to be a priority for us and our law enforcement partners.”
