LAREDO, Texas – A 39-year-old man has been sentenced for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Jose Pedro Garcia pleaded guilty Aug. 8.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now ordered Garcia to serve 286 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that Garcia was selling poison and had been trafficking drugs that have been killing people for a long time. The court also emphasized the harm Garcia had done over the years in selling these drugs.
On May 26, authorities executed a search warrant at Garcia’s residence. At that time, they found multiple small plastic baggies, each containing various types of suspected narcotics. Authorities seized, separated, weighed and ultimately identified them as heroin, meth, cocaine base and fentanyl.
Garcia later admitted to selling drugs for approximately 10 years and started with crack cocaine, then meth, but ultimately moved on to “China White,” because it gave people a stronger high and was more popular. Garcia also color coded the bags to differentiate between the drugs.
“China White” is slang for fentanyl, a Schedule II-controlled substance.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol and the Laredo Police Department Narcotics Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Bajew prosecuted the case.
The case was prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is the largest anti-crime task force in the country. 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 on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
More information on the dangers of fentanyl can be found on the DEA’s website. #OnePillCanKill