Mexican Woman Sentenced To Federal Prison For Importing Meth Into U.S.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 11:00 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
LAREDO, TX.- On Thursday, October 24, 2024, Ana Maria Pena-Gutierrez, 55, a Mexican national residing in Houston, Texas, appeared in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Diana Saldana to 210 months in federal prison to be followed five years of supervised release for her conviction illicit narcotics smuggling.
According to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, following a two-day trial in U.S. Federal Court in Laredo, Texas, a jury deliberated for just two hours before convicting Pena-Gutierrez on February 8, 2023, of the charge of Conspiracy to Import and Possession with Intent to Deliver Methamphetamine, in connection with importing nearly 60 kilograms of methamphetamine into the United States.
According To Documents Filed With Court
According to documents filed with the court, between December 13, 2020, and lasting through June 14, 2022, Pena-Gutierrez conspired with others to import methamphetamine into the United States. During that time, acting as a drug trafficking organizer, Pena-Gutierrez organized transportation, provided vehicles to be loaded, and paid the drivers based on their successful efforts in getting methamphetamine into the U.S.
During the trial, co-conspirator Mike Mendoza testified that Pena-Gutierrez hired and paid him to drive two vehicles to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the United States several times between January 10, 2021, and February 25, 2021. Law enforcement Officers arrested Mendoza on February 25, 2021, as he drove a pickup truck into Laredo, Texas, with 24 bundles of methamphetamine hidden in the truck’s tires. According to testimony given at trial, the total weight of the methamphetamine was 56.232 kilograms and had an approximate street value of $451,244.
Mendoza admitted that he had successfully made two prior trips from Mexico at Pena Gutierrez’s direction, but investigators uncovered that he had made four prior entries into the United States. Mendoza further testified that Pena-Gutierrez paid him $5,000 for each of the two prior smuggling trips and promised to pay him $9,000 when he was taken into custody.
Just two months after Mendoza’s arrest, law enforcement officers arrested another co-conspirator, Erik Alonso Martinez, on April 23, 2021, as he attempted to enter Laredo, Texas, with 52.28 kilograms of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $200,938. After his arrest and during a subsequent interview with investigators, Martinez told them he had picked up the car in Houston from someone whom he declined to identify, but further investigation uncovered that, in fact, Pena-Gutierrez gave Martinez the vehicle.
After her arrest in April 2021, Pena-Gutierrez told investigators others paid her to recruit Mendoza and Martinez. She further told investigators she received $4,000 for each successful drug run and paid each driver between $7,000 and $9,000 per trip. During the trial, investigators presented evidence, including charts of 350 phone calls and text messages between Pena-Gutierrez and Mendoza regarding the price of methamphetamine and how it increases as it is further transported into the United States.
The jury also heard expert financial testimony about the irregularities in Pena-Gutierrez’s banking activities. Authorities also testified, detailing her confession and the entire conspiracy.
“Pena-Gutierrez and others like her who poison our communities with drugs and jeopardize the lives of countless persons of all ages deserve to be found and prosecuted without hesitation,” Hamdani said. “That continues to be my commitment to our communities, our people, and our youth.”
