Five Defendants Sentenced for Participating in an Interstate Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Press Release

Over Nineteen Kilograms of Methamphetamine brought from Texas to Tennessee Seized by Law Enforcement Agents

Jackson, TN - Five men from South Texas were indicted in Jackson, Tennessee for their role in trafficking multiple kilograms of methamphetamine. On September 13, 2024, the Honorable S. Thomas Anderson sentenced the final defendant in the Western District of Tennessee.

According to information presented in court, in August 2019, FBI-Jackson, Tennessee, working with FBI-McAllen, Texas, learned of a drug trafficking organization operating in South Texas. Investigators determined that brothers Pablo Talavera, 64, and Elias Talavera, 52, were trafficking kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and other narcotics across the United States.

In January 2022, in a covert operation, agents seized nine kilograms of methamphetamine from an 18-wheeler in Jackson shipped by Pablo Talavera and others to Tennessee. In March 2022, agents seized another 10.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in Camden, Tennessee sent by this organization. Investigators determined that Pablo and Elias Talavera obtained methamphetamine from cartels in Mexico and coordinated the shipments of the controlled substances. Luis Sorcia, 32, Jose Cordova, 32, and Guillermo Castro, 51, assisted in transporting the narcotics and attempted to avoid detection by law enforcement.

Each of the following co-conspirators pled guilty to charges brought against them and were sentenced by the Honorable S. Thomas Anderson, United States District Judge:

• Pablo Talavera, of Michoacan, Mexico: 275 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
• Elias Talavera, of Reynosa, Mexico: 150 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
• Luis Sorcia, of Edinburg, Texas: 120 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
• Jose Cordova, of Reynosa, Mexico: 72 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
• Guillermo Castro, of Brownsville, Texas: 60 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.

This investigation was conducted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jackson, Tennessee and McAllen, Texas. Assisting in the investigation were the Drug Enforcement Administration Laboratories in Nashville, Tennessee and Dallas, Texas, the Selmer Police Department, the Bolivar Police Department, the Jackson Police Department, the Decatur County Sheriff's Office, the McNairy County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the 24th Judicial District Drug Task Force.

Acting United States Attorney Reagan Fondren thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory D. Allen and Hillary L. Parham, who prosecuted this case, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated the case.

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Updated September 20, 2024