Laredo Man & Dallas Man Sentenced For Roles International Drug Conspiracy
Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 10:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
LAREDO, TX.- On Monday. November 4, 2024, Guillermo Fernando Rojo, 39, of Laredo, Texas, and Gilbert Zambrano Saldivar, 45, of Dallas, 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 120 months each in federal prison. Judge Saldana also ordered both to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of their imprisonment
Rojo and Saldivar previously appeared in District Court on March 4, 2024, and April 4, 2024, and each pleaded guilty to Distribution of Cocaine; and Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine.
Two others, Omar Acosta, 41, of Laredo, Texas, and Juan Ambrosio Barrientos-Cano, 34, of Austin, Texas, were previously sentenced to the same terms of incarceration for their roles in the conspiracy.
According to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani and documents filed with the court, between November 2021 and December 2021, Rojo and Acosta instructed another individual to travel from Laredo to Austin to pick up 5 kilograms of cocaine and $9,000 in U.S. currency from Barrientos-Cano. The individual would then deliver the cocaine to their courier in Dallas, Texas, and the money to two other men. The cocaine had an estimated street value of $81,150.
Upon arriving in Dallas, the man actually delivered bundles of fake cocaine to Saldivar, who was also acting on instructions from the two men and reported that the bundles were successfully delivered. Authorities intercepted the delivery and arrested Saldivar.
Several days later, Rolo contacted the individual to make payment arrangements for picking up the cocaine from Barrietos-Cano and delivering the cocaine to Saldivar. Law enforcement subsequently arrested the remaining three men in the conspiracy, who admitted to their roles in the crimes.
Further investigation revealed previous incidents where the co-conspirators delivered multikilogram loads of cocaine from the Laredo border to major cities in Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi. The co-conspirators also collected several hundred thousand dollars from drug proceeds and delivered the money to Acosta and Rojo to fund the organization’s operations in the United States and Mexico.
Additionally, truck drivers smuggled cocaine bundles from Mexico and delivered them to Acosta and Rojo or to couriers who the men recruited, gave orders, and paid them. Acosta and Rojo transported approximately $280,000 in cash proceeds three weeks before their arrest and, at times, delivered up to $500,000 to Mexico in single smuggling operations. The investigation also uncovered that Mexican organizers paid Acosta and Rojo five percent of the money collections from outside Texas and two percent collected in Texas.
U.S. Attorney Hamdani commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigation, the Laredo and Austin Police Departments, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
