Liquid Methamphetamine Smuggler Sentenced
LAREDO, Texas - A 46-year-old woman has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction for importing methamphetamine into the United States, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Sherie Lyn De Sylvia, a U.S. citizen who resided in Tijuana, Mexico, pled guilty February 22, 2017.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo handed De Sylvia a sentence of 84 months for the methamphetamine conviction followed by four years of supervised release. De Sylvia was on supervised release for a previous conviction in which she had smuggled eight kilograms of methamphetamine, five kilograms of cocaine and five kilograms of heroin inside her vehicle’s spare tire on May 13, 2015, at the Otay Mesa, California, Port of Entry. The court revoked the remainder of that term and further ordered her to prison for 12 months, six months of which will be served consecutively to the other prison term imposed for a total 90-month federal prison sentence. At the hearing, Judge Marmolejo noted to the defendant that “all the emotion shown in court today needs to be channeled when you get out to change your life.”
On June 11, 2016, De Sylvia was detained at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on IH-35 in Laredo. At secondary inspection, agents noticed potential tampering with the fuel tank of De Sylvia’s vehicle. Inside, they soon discovered 30 gallons of liquid methamphetamine.
De Sylvia will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Border Patrol conducted the investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Coker prosecuted the case.
