Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
McALLEN, Texas – A 44-year-old Mexican national illegally residing in Mission has been ordered to prison for trafficking cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jorge Alberto Galindo-Vargas pleaded guilty June 28, 2024.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Galindo-Vargas to serve 210 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. During the hearing, Galindo-Vargas spoke to the court noting that he had previously received a large sentence for drug trafficking at the age of 17. In handing down the sentence, in response to Galindo-Vargas statements, Judge Crane stated “Unfortunately, you’re in the cocaine business again, and that’s going to cost you another chunk of your life.”
“Illegally entering the United States is bad enough; illegally entering the United States in order to traffic drugs is even worse,” said Ganjei. “Galindo-Vargas will now have 17 years to think about his poor choices as he awaits his eventual deportation.”
On Nov. 1, 2023, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop. Upon inspection, authorities discovered 12 kilograms of cocaine inside an ice chest inside the vehicle.
Galindo-Vargas will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
This case is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Texas Department of Public Safety – Criminal Investigations Division are conducting the OCDETF operation with the assistance of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office and the Mission and Alton police departments. 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. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roberto Lopez Jr., Lance Watt and Brittany Jensen are prosecuting the case.