38-year-old Daniel Nuñez, also known as “El Comandante,” was sentenced to life in prison for drug conspiracy and money laundering. Nuñez had strong ties to the notorious Gulf Cartel.
The Gulf Cartel reportedly arranged the transporting of drugs from Mexico to Texas, more specifically to the Rio Grande Valley area, according to Ildefonso Ortiz of the McAllen Monitor. The contraband was subsequently transported to other cities, like Dallas or Orlando, where it was sold.
An indictment obtained by Breitbart Texas claimed that Nuñez did “knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. The controlled substance involved was more than 1,000 kilograms of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana.”
Court documents claim that the drug running occurred “from or about” May 2011 through February 2012.
The McAllen Monitor reported that 24 defendants, in total, were indicted in the case involving Nuñez. They all have reportedly either pled guilty or have been convicted.
“While court records don’t identify Nuñez as a Gulf Cartel member, his exploits are mentioned in a series of corridos— Mexican folk ballads — such as ‘Ed Reinoceronte M-50’, ‘El Comandante y su Gente’ and others that discuss teams of Gulf Cartel hit men,” according to The McAllen Monitor.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service, were all reportedly involved in the investigation into Nuñez.
Special Agent in Charge Janice Ayala said the investigation “dealt a major blow to the Nuñez Drug Trafficking Organization, sentencing Nuñez to life in prison.”
Several large marijuana busts have been conducted in Texas in 2014.
In March, Breitbart Texas reported on 32-year-old Diego Santillan of Del Rio, Texas, who will spend 18 years in federal prison for possessing over 100 kilograms of marijuana with the intent to distribute. He faces eight subsequent years of supervised release.
Of Santillan’s case, HSI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Janice Ayala said, “This investigation resulted in dismantling a large-scale drug-smuggling, -staging and -transporting operation. HSI is committed to making our communities safer by conducting joint robust investigations with the San Antonio Police Department, and other law enforcement partners, to achieve that goal.”
Nunez Indictment by BreitbartTexas
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate
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