South Texas man sentenced to 12 years for drug smuggling
Defendant was working for a local DTO connected to the Zetas
EAGLE PASS, Texas — A Eagle Pass man was sentenced Wednesday to 149 months imprisonment for conspiracy with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Jesus Sotelo-Duran, 55, appeared before U.S. District Judge Alia Moses, who sentenced him to serve 149 months in federal prison. Upon release, Judge Moses ordered Sotelo-Duran to serve five years of supervised release. Sotelo-Duran pleaded guilty April 19, 2012.
According to court information, Sotelo-Duran was a member of a local drug trafficking organization (DTO) where he worked as a money courier and drug stash house operator. During the course of the investigation, agents learned that the DTO was responsible for delivering millions of dollars to the Zeta organization. HSI was able to intercept close to $3 million dollars before it reached the Zeta organization.
Sotelo-Duran was arrested Oct. 7, 2011, He remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The case was prosecuted out of the Western District of Texas.
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