United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ATLANTA – Yadira Gomez-Gonzalez has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Gomez-Gonzalez is the last of three defendants whose drug ring was infiltrated by undercover DEA agents when they attempted to send nearly 14 kilograms of 100 percent pure methamphetamine from California to Georgia.

“These individuals established a very lucrative methamphetamine smuggling operation in Atlanta that was crushed by the men and women of DEA,” said DEA Atlanta Division Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy. DEA, along with its partners, will continue to fight those predators who distribute poison in our community.

“This drug trafficking ring affected countless people with the methamphetamine they were sending across the country,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Thankfully, our law enforcement partners penetrated this tight-knit group and have removed this poison from our streets.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: DEA agents identified Gomez-Gonzalez and her husband, Fernando Herrera-Rojas, as drug smugglers looking for tractor-trailer drivers to haul drugs between Los Angeles and Atlanta. An undercover agent, acting as a long-haul trucker, volunteered for the job and negotiated the terms of the transportation and payment with Gomez-Gonzalez and Herrera-Rojas.

After coordinating by phone with Gomez-Gonzalez and Herrera-Rojas, the undercover agent collected nearly 14 kilograms of 100 percent pure methamphetamine from Reynaldo Gonzalez-Arreola in Commerce, Calif. All three defendants were arrested after the undercover agent delivered the drugs to Gomez-Gonzalez and Herrera-Rojas in the Atlanta area. Agents also seized $23,890 and a firearm from Gonzalez-Arreola’s home in Los Angeles. Gomez-Gonzalez’s arrest thwarted a separate shipment of drugs she was attempting to coordinate from McAllen, Texas, to the Atlanta area.

Members of the conspiracy who have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May are:

• Yadira Gomez-Gonzalez, 34, of Kennesaw, Ga., was sentenced to 14 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Gomez-Gonzalez was convicted on these charges on Sept. 14, 2018, after she pleaded guilty.
• Fernando Herrera-Rojas, 35, of Kennesaw, Ga., was sentenced to eight years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Herrera-Rojas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on Sept. 14, 2018, and was sentenced on March 29, 2019.
• Reynaldo Gonzalez-Arreola, 32, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Gonzalez-Arreola pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on Jan. 3, 2019, and was sentenced on March 19, 2019.

All three defendants will be deported to Mexico following their sentence of imprisonment.

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Hartigan prosecuted the case.

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov. Also, follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv.

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