LAREDO, Texas - Eleven members of a heroin and methamphetamine trafficking group have been arrested throughout the Southern District of Texas and elsewhere for their involvement in a large-scale drug conspiracy, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
The indictment, returned under seal July 23, 2013, alleges the group was responsible for smuggling heroin and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States at ports of entry from San Diego, Calif., to Brownsville. Authorities allegedly intercepted shipments of drugs totaling 131 kilograms of heroin and 31 kilograms of methamphetamine. The drugs were transported utilizing private vehicles and were seized at the ports of entry or border checkpoints, according to the indictment.
Arrested today were Luis Daniel Aguilar, 22, Eduardo Aguilar-Vera, 37, Juan Trevino, 23, and Jose Librado Sanchez-Guerra, 29, all of Laredo; Edgar Loera, 30, and Antonio De Jesus Mejia-Contreras, 23, both of Mira Loma, Calif.; Clementina Aguilar-Castillo, 29, and Ericka Pina, 37, both of Corpus Christi; Eduardo Segura, 22, of Tucson, Ariz.; Leticia Corona, 37, of Dallas; and Miguel Angel Vives-Macias, 34, of San Antonio. The indictment remains as to those charged but not as yet in custody. Some will or have already made their initial appearances in federal court in the jurisdiction where they were arrested. Those taken into custody in Laredo are expected to make their initial appearances tomorrow morning.
All defendants are charged with conspiracy to import and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and face up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $10 million fine, upon conviction. Aguilar, Loera, Aguilar-Vera and Trevino are also charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. If convicted, they face a sentence of up to 20 years and a maximum $500,000 fine. The substantive counts of heroin and/or methamphetamine trafficking carry varying terms of federal imprisonment up to a possibility of life depending upon the amount of drugs involved.
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Texas Department of Public Safety. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney José Angel Moreno.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
