Kansas City, MO – A federal jury in Kansas City recently convicted a Mexican national implicated in a multi-million dollar narcotics conspiracy. The scheme involved distributing vast amounts of methamphetamine and heroin across the Kansas City metropolitan area and other parts of the United States.
Luis Eduardo Pineda-Zarao, 29, residing in Lebanon, Tennessee, was proven guilty of conspiracy to distribute significant quantities of methamphetamine and heroin between February 28, 2020, and June 1, 2022. Authorities have linked the drug-trafficking operation to the Cárteles Unidos cartel, based in Michoacán, Mexico.
The federal indictment revealed that the drug distribution network moved more than 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 22.1 kilograms of heroin. The street value of methamphetamine was estimated at approximately $300 per ounce, while heroin was priced around $1,500 per ounce, highlighting the substantial financial scale of the operation.
Throughout the investigation, agents from Homeland Security Investigations carried out covert operations including two bulk cash pickups totaling over $308,775. Law enforcement efforts resulted in the seizure of $610,400 in cash, 56 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5.5 kilograms of heroin, 2.6 kilograms of marijuana, and numerous firearms, some of which were reported stolen. Additional funds were secured during a vehicular stop and multiple residential raids totaling nearly $393,000.
Pineda-Zarao was one of the 44 defendants charged in the extensive case. To date, nine co-defendants have received sentences, and 34 others have entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing.
Following the presentation of overwhelming evidence, the jury needed less than an hour of deliberation before delivering their guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays. The trial, which commenced on October 21, concluded swiftly after these deliberations.
Pineda-Zarao now faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison without parole, with the potential for a life sentence. The final sentencing will be determined after a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and Megan Baker and involved a broad coalition of law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, various state and local police departments, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and others.
This case falls under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, which aims to disrupt and dismantle top-level criminal organizations that pose a significant threat to the U.S. by employing a collaborative, multi-agency approach. Additionally, the prosecution is part of the OCDETF Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, enhancing the capacity to conduct intricate, multi-jurisdictional operations against drug trafficking and associated financial networks.
The establishment of multi-agency teams allows for continuous, intelligence-driven efforts designed to effectively combat and eliminate sophisticated networks engaged in organized crime, reflecting a proven model for addressing such pervasive threats to public and national security.
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