Damien Diggs U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas
Over 30 individuals have been sentenced to federal prison following a five-year investigation into drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Texas. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
The investigation began in 2019 when law enforcement in Angelina County started looking into numerous individuals suspected of trafficking methamphetamine into and through East Texas. By February 2025, more than 30 people had been sentenced for offenses such as conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and other related offenses. This led to the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization operating between Mexico, Houston, Angelina County, Tyler County, and other areas.
Among those sentenced were Jesus Sanchez-Rueda from Houston with a sentence of 360 months and Jesse Canseco also from Houston with a sentence of 292 months. Other sentences ranged from 37 months to over 200 months depending on the individual's role in the methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF aims to identify, disrupt, and dismantle high-level criminal organizations that pose threats to the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Lufkin; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Angelina County Sheriff’s Office; Lufkin Police Department; Harris County Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department; and the Texas Department of Public Safety-Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Gaston prosecuted these cases.
