A Mexican national residing illegally in Mission, Texas, has been sentenced to prison for cocaine trafficking. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced that Jorge Alberto Galindo-Vargas, 44, pleaded guilty on June 28, 2024.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Galindo-Vargas to 210 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. During the hearing, Galindo-Vargas acknowledged a previous drug trafficking sentence at age 17. In response, Judge Crane remarked, “Unfortunately, you’re in the cocaine business again, and that’s going to cost you another chunk of your life.”
Ganjei commented on the case stating, “Illegally entering the United States is bad enough; illegally entering the United States in order to traffic drugs is even worse,” adding that Galindo-Vargas will have "17 years to think about his poor choices as he awaits his eventual deportation."
The arrest occurred on November 1, 2023, when law enforcement discovered 12 kilograms of cocaine during a traffic stop inspection.
Galindo-Vargas remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.
This case resulted from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation involving multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations and the Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigations Division. The OCDETF program aims to dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through a coordinated multi-agency approach.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roberto Lopez Jr., Lance Watt, and Brittany Jensen are prosecuting the case.