Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
FORT WAYNE –Alejandro Lagunas Penaloza, also known as Jose Alfredo Castro Reyes, 47 years old, of Michoacan, Mexico, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to distributing 500 grams or more of cocaine, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Lagunas Penaloza was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 4 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, Lagunas Penaloza sold a kilogram of cocaine to an undercover law enforcement agent on March 7, 2023. Lagunas Penaloza was illegally present in the United States.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Allen County Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Wayne Safe Streets Gang Task Force, consisting of the FBI, the Indiana State Police, the Allen County Police Department, and the Fort Wayne Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony W. Geller.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.