KANSAS CITY – A Mexican national who worked with a drug trafficking organization affiliated with the Cárteles Unidos cartel in Michoacán, Mexico, was convicted by a federal trial jury last week for his role in a $4.7 million conspiracy to distribute more than 335 kilograms of methamphetamine. 22 kilograms of heroin in the Kansas City metropolitan area and throughout the United States, according to the United States Attorney General.

Luis Eduardo Pineda-Zarao (29), a Mexican national living in Lebanon, Tennessee, was convicted of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from February 28, 2020, to June 1, 2022.

The indictment alleges the conspiracy involved the distribution of more than 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an average street price of $300 per ounce, and more than 22.1 kilograms of heroin, with an average street price of $1,500 per ounce.

During the course of the investigation, federal agents in charge of Homeland Security Investigations conducted two undercover bulk cash seizures totaling $308,775, including $610,400 in bulk cash, over 56 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5.5 kilograms of heroin, 2.6 kilograms of marijuana, and two seized at least eight firearms. was stolen. Law enforcement also seized $277,863 during a vehicle stop and $114,863 while executing search warrants at four residences in Kansas City, Mo.

Pineda-Zarao is among 44 defendants charged in this case. Nine defendants were convicted and 34 defendants pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

After the evidence was presented, the jury in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, MO, deliberated for less than an hour before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending the trial that began on Monday, October 21.

Under federal law, Pineda-Zarao is subject to a minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole and up to life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is established by Congress and is included here for informational purposes because the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on advisory sentencing guidelines and other legal factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the completion of the presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and Megan Baker. Investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Drug Enforcement Administration, Jackson County Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, Kansas City. , Kan., Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Kansas Highway Patrol, Independence, Mo., Police Department, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota State Patrol, Olmsted County, Minn., Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI, Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. Using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach, OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States. Additional information about the OCDETF Program is available at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

KC Metro Strike Force

This investigation was opened as part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams working side by side in the region. same location. This co-located model allows agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against priority targets and their affiliated illicit financial networks. These co-located Strike Forces, led by the prosecutor, benefit from the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be formed by agents, analysts, and prosecutors staying together over time and exemplify the model that has proven most effective in organized combat. crime. The primary mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, dismantle, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that pose a significant threat to the public safety, economy, or national security of the United States.