Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
LAREDO, Texas – A 33-year-old Laredo man has been sentenced for possession with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Raul Garcia Jr. aka Rule pleaded guilty Aug. 6. 2024.
U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison has now ordered Garcia to serve 100 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by four years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard about Garcia’s numerous prior convictions and contacts with law enforcement. In handing down the sentence, the court noted this was a serious crime.
The investigation began in January 2024 when law enforcement learned Garcia may have been selling fentanyl in the Laredo area. Over the next three months, authorities discovered Garcia was selling narcotics out of his home.
A search warrant in March of that year resulted in the discovery of heroin packaged for street sale. A month later, law enforcement obtained a second search warrant and again found heroin. Similar to previously found drugs, the heroin was also packaged for street sale.
The searches also revealed methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, money and stolen firearm.
At the time of his plea, Garcia admitted to possessing the drugs located and seized throughout the investigation.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Laredo Police Department’s Narcotics Division conducted the investigation with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Chamberlin and Leslie Cortez prosecuted the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is the largest anti-crime task force in the country. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.