Extradited Drug Smuggler Gets Nearly 30 Years In Federal Prison
LAREDO, Texas - A 32-year-old man extradited to the U.S. and later convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin has been ordered to federal prison, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Houston Division, Special Agent in Charge, Joseph M. Arabit and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Fernando Arturo Flores-Fang, 32, of Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, pleaded guilty May 1, 2015.
Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña sentenced him to 340 months in federal prison. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
Between August 2009 and March 13, 2012, Flores-Fang participated in a conspiracy to smuggle methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin into Laredo. During the investigation, authorities seized more than 35 kilograms of cocaine on April 8, 2011; more than 43 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than one kilogram of heroin on May 3, 2011; and 894 grams of methamphetamine on July 31, 2011. Flores-Fang was also held accountable for 47 kilograms of methamphetamine shipped to Dallas on April 16, 2011.
An arrest warrant was issued for Flores-Fang on March 13, 2012. He was later taken into custody by Mexican authorities and then extradited to the United States on Oct. 24, 2014.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Nine others have been convicted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation dubbed Operation Nemesis. Each of those defendants received sentences ranging from 108 to 327 months in federal prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the two-year investigation. Former Assistant U.S. (AUSA) James Hepburn and AUSA José Angel Moreno prosecuted the case.
