LAREDO, Texas - A 49-year-old Carrizo Springs resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute more than 300 kilograms of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Vicente Guajardo-Cantu pleaded guilty Nov. 4, 2019.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Guajardo-Cantu to serve a 60-month term of imprisonment to be immediately followed by four years of supervised release.
Guajardo-Cantu worked as a truck driver with a North Dakota commercial driver’s license. On Sep. 16, 2017, he arrived at the U.S. Highway 83 checkpoint driving his tractor-trailer. During an initial inspection, a K-9 alerted to the trailer he was hauling. There, authorities ultimately found 28 cellophane bundles of marijuana hidden inside the trailer.
Further investigation also revealed he presented a fraudulent bill of landing during the primary inspection.
The drugs weighed a total of 312 kilograms (688 pounds) with a street value of approximately $200,000.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
