Illegal Immigrant and Smith County Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Operating a Meth Lab
TYLER, Texas – An illegal immigrant and a Smith County man sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations.
Daniel Garibay-Barriga, 39, a Mexican national, and Craig Allen Wallace, 50, of Tyler, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On July 21, 2026, Garibay-Barriga was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle. Wallace was sentenced to 165 months on the same day.
“These sentences send a clear message that individuals who manufacture and distribute methamphetamine will be held accountable and demonstrates the strength of coordinated law enforcement efforts to combat drug trafficking in East Texas,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Joseph B. Tucker. “The DEA, alongside our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners will continue to dismantle criminal organizations, remove dangerous drugs from our communities, and bring those responsible to justice.”
According to information presented in court, on January 28, 2025, a search warrant was executed at Wallace’s residence on FM 724 in Tyler following a drug trafficking investigation. During the search, investigators located two outbuildings containing numerous items of paraphernalia consistent with a clandestine methamphetamine conversion lab, including heating sources, chemicals such as volatile solvents, filtering items such as mesh screens, and large storage containers. In addition, investigators seized 44.71 liters of liquid containing methamphetamine in various stages of the conversion process and 9.57 kilograms of crystallized methamphetamine ready for distribution.
Officers also discovered an RV on the property that was being used as a makeshift drugstore stocked with methamphetamine, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, and numerous THC products. Inside the residence, investigators located nine firearms.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Tyler Resident Office; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Gregg County Sheriff’s Office; and Smith County Sheriff’s Office.
