Former Mexican law enforcement official imprisoned for hiring drivers to transport loads of deadly narcotics

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A 56-year-old Mexican citizen residing in the Brownsville area has been sentenced following his conviction for conspiracy with intent to deliver cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

A federal jury convicted Gilberto Almaraz-Muniz April 26 on one count of conspiracy and three counts of possession with intent to distribute various controlled substances following a five-day trial.

U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now ordered him to serve 250 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional information detailing the extensive elements of the conspiracy Almaraz-Muniz lead. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Almaraz-Muniz specifically made use of younger individuals to carry out the transportation of the drugs.

Law enforcement conducted a narcotics seizure in Klegberg County March 10, 2022. At that time, authorities arrested co-conspirator Pedro Venegas Jr., 24, in Brownsville.

Once law enforcement noticed tampering within the engine, they took his truck to a secure location to remove the engine's manifold and other components. The exposed internal workings of the engine revealed 23 bundles of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. The truck's 6-cylinder engine had modifications to appear as an 8-cylinder to keep the drugs hidden within those areas.

Further evidence showed co-conspirator Jetzrael Saldana, 26, Brownsville, recruited Venegas as driver on behalf of Almaraz-Muniz who was a law enforcement official in Mexico and operated as the drug supplier.

During the trial, witnesses testified that Almaraz-Muniz would ask Saldana to recruit drivers to take drug loads past the immigration checkpoint for distribution in Houston and other areas. Almaraz-Muniz would then arrange for the vehicles to be titled in the drivers' names and have them do "dry runs," crossing the port of entry several times before hiding drugs within the vehicle.

At the time of the trial, the jury heard additional evidence about two other drug seizures during which Almaraz-Muniz hired drivers to deliver narcotics. The seizures included 83 kilograms of liquid meth at the Gateway International bridge in Brownsville on July 17, 2022, and a 24-kilogram seizure of black tar heroin in Robstown Sept. 26, 2022.

Almaraz-Muniz has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the South Texas Narcotics Task Force in Kingsville and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Oscar Ponce and Victoria Aranda prosecuted the case.