DEL RIO, Texas – A Fort Worth woman was sentenced Oct. 13 to 262 months in prison for conspiracy to import methamphetamine.
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Del Rio office conducted the investigation with the assistance of HSI Dallas and the Fort Worth Police Department.
Maria Tello, 39, was also ordered to serve five years supervised release after completing her sentence. Tello pleaded guilty March 29, 2018.
According to court documents, Tello conspired to import more than 75 pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico. The investigation revealed that on Dec. 2, 2017, a vehicle stopped at the Del Rio Port of Entry contained two concealed compartments with the methamphetamine. The vehicle was driven to Dallas where it was met by Maria and her husband, Juan Tello. Maria admitted she knew the vehicle was loaded with methamphetamine and that the drug was to be transported within the Dallas-Fort Worth area for further distribution.
“Methamphetamine is a highly addictive poison that destroys lives and destabilizes our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “We will hold accountable those seeking to distribute it.”
On Sept. 18, 2018, Juan Tello, 39, of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. He pleaded guilty April 26, 2018.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sydni Connell and Amy Hail, of the Western District of Texas, prosecuted the case.
HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.