Mexican national guilty of $4.7 million meth and heroin conspiracy in KC

KANSAS CITY – A Mexican national who worked with a drug trafficking organization linked to the Cárteles Unidos cartel in Michoacán, Mexico, was convicted by a federal jury last week of his role in a $4.7 million conspiracy to commit more than to distribute 335 pounds of methamphetamine and 22 pounds of heroin in the Kansas City metropolitan area and throughout the United States, the United States Attorney’s Office said.

Luis Eduardo Pineda-Zarao, 29, a citizen of Mexico residing in Lebanon, Tennessee, was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from February 28, 2020 to June 1, 2022.

The indictment alleges that the conspiracy involved the distribution of more than 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an average street price of $300 per ounce, and more than 22.1 kilograms of heroin, with an average street price of $1,500 per ounce.

During the investigation, federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations two undercover large amounts of cash totaling $308,775 and seized $610,400 in cash, more than 56 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5.5 kilograms of heroin, 2.6 kilograms of marijuana and ten at least eight firearms, two of which were stolen. Law enforcement officers also seized $277,863 during a vehicle stop and $114,863 while executing search warrants at four homes in Kansas City, Mo.

Pineda-Zarao is one of 44 suspects charged in the case. Nine co-defendants have been convicted and 34 co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

After presenting the evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Missouri, deliberated for less than an hour before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays found guilty, ending a trial that began Monday, October 21.

Under federal statutes, Pineda-Zarao is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the defendant’s sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will take place following the completion of a current investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and Megan Baker. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City , Kan., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Olmsted County, Minnesota, Sheriff’s Office, the Het Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. 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 at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

KC Metro Strike Force

This prosecution was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which establishes permanent multi-agency task force teams to work side by side in the war on drugs. same location. This co-located model allows agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their associated illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led, co-located Strike Forces benefit from the synergy created by the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who stick together over time, and they embody the model that most has proven effective in the fight against organized crime. crime. The primary mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that pose a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.