A Dallas-area man, Victor Manuel Gaona, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. The announcement was made by United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
Gaona, 29, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On March 5, 2026, United States District Judge Ada E. Brown sentenced him to 240 months in federal prison.
According to court documents and statements during sentencing, on June 18, 2024, federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at a residence on Ben Hur Street in Dallas. Agents had previously linked this location to drug-trafficking activity involving Gaona and co-defendants Omar Castro-Sandoval and Epifanio Flores Magana. During the search, agents found a clandestine methamphetamine recrystallization laboratory in the back room of the house where two minor children also lived. The lab contained liquid, intermediate-stage, and finished methamphetamine as well as equipment such as a propane tank and large burner. Additional finished methamphetamine was discovered in a bedroom shared by Gaona and Flores Magana. Heroin prepared for distribution was found in a utility closet beneath children's luggage.
Court records indicate that Gaona was held responsible for nearly 100,000 kilograms of narcotics calculated in converted drug weight. Co-defendant Castro-Sandoval received a sentence of 168 months imprisonment from Judge Brown on January 20, 2026. Sentencing for Flores Magana is scheduled for April 14, 2026.
The case falls under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF coordinates efforts across government agencies to combat criminal cartels and transnational organizations involved in crimes such as drug trafficking and human smuggling within the United States and abroad. Special focus is given to cases involving child trafficking or other crimes against children.
"The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad," according to information provided about the initiative.
In Dallas, HSTF operations involve agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration with prosecution led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
