A former deputy sheriff from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery announced that Baldemar Cardenas, aged 39 and residing in McAllen, pleaded guilty on April 1, 2022.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Cardenas to 46 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. The court considered his role as a deputy during the offense and highlighted concerns about law enforcement aiding drug traffickers.
Cardenas admitted that he conspired with a drug trafficking organization in January 2020. The group obtained high-purity cocaine, which they used to create low-purity sham cocaine. Cardenas provided information to local law enforcement, leading them to seize these fake bundles while allowing co-conspirators to evade responsibility for stealing and distributing the real cocaine.
In exchange for compensation, Cardenas falsely claimed that a confidential source provided the information necessary for law enforcement to seize approximately 33 kilograms of sham cocaine bundles in Mission. Laboratory tests showed these bundles had only 1.5% purity.
Cardenas remains free on bond and will voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility at a later date.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations led the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with help from several agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, and Mission Police Department. OCDETF focuses on identifying and dismantling major criminal networks through collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. handled the prosecution of this case.