South Texas resident sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for brokering Mexico-Chicago cocaine transaction

MCALLEN, Texas — A South Texas resident was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and being unlawfully present in the United States.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.  This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) under an investigation known as “Operation Red-Eye.” 

Levi Galvan-Galvan, 37, an illegal alien residing in McAllen, appeared before U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa who sentenced him to 60 months in federal prison Dec. 19 for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, and being in the country illegally.  In handing down the sentence, the court took into consideration Galvan-Galvan’s role in coordinating a drug transaction between co-conspirators and that he committed the offense after a prior conviction for possessing drugs in 2009. Since Galvan-Galvan is a not a U.S. citizen, he will be placed in removal proceedings after he completes his prison sentence.  He pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 12, 2016.

According to court documents, Galvan-Galvan admitted to brokering a one-kilogram cocaine transaction between a supplier in Mexico and a distributor in Chicago, Illinois. On Oct. 21, 2015, Galvan-Galvan coordinated the cocaine delivery by phone from his residence in McAllen. Once delivered to the buyer in Chicago, law enforcement seized the cocaine and arrested the buyer and two others. Galvan-Galvan was to receive payment via Western Union from the buyer in Chicago.  

The illegal transaction not only led to this sentencing, but also to the arrest and prosecution of three individuals in the Northern District of Illinois.

Galvan-Galvan will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Juan F. Alanis, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.