Six men who allegedly worked for a Mexican cartel are facing possible life terms in prison if they are convicted on federal drug conspiracy charges. The men are accused of operating a cocaine smuggling cell based in south Texas.
This week, a federal grand jury handed down a multi-count drug trafficking conspiracy indictment against Oscar Obed Manzanares, 22, Jose Bernardo Gonzalez-Gomez, 55, Jose Santiago Luna-Duran, 45, Arlando Garcia-Garcia, 40, and Martin Vela-Alanis, 58, and 35-year-old Martin Adrusbel Vela. The U.S. Attorney’s office announced the indictment.
The men have been in federal custody since the initial arrest in March. Four of the men are Mexican nationals with legal status in the country, while the other two are U.S. citizens. A conviction on drug conspiracy charges carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum one of life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed.
The case began on March 22, when agents with Homeland Security Investigations arrested the six men after a surveillance operation and a raid. Federal prosecutors claim that men crossed the border from Mexico to the United States in a GMC truck and waited at a local business. The agents were operating under information that the men were smuggling drugs and had been operating a smuggling cell for some time.
Authorities allegedly saw the men move items from the GMC truck to a Ford pickup and then followed the men to a house where they allegedly saw one of the men drop off a large duffel bag. Authorities raided the house and found 15 kilograms of cocaine (approximately 30 pounds), more than $90,000 in cash, and a handgun. Agents arrested two of the men as they arrived at the local business where the vehicle exchange had taken place. There, authorities used a police dog to find more than $238,000 in cash.
Luisana Moreno is a contributing writer for Breitbart Texas.