Houston man with 15 kilos of meth, loaded guns given 30-year sentence
HOUSTON - A Houston drug dealer who showed up to an IKEA with meth and loaded guns was sentenced to 30 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday.
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Josue Daniel Casco, 38, reportedly went to IKEA to conduct a drug deal when he was arrested during an undercover operation. Authorities said it all started in September 2020, when they learned of drug deals via a Mexican phone number.
Further conversations led law enforcement to Casco, in Houston, who agreed to sell 15 kilograms of crystal meth for more than $100,000.
Casco then met Dante Nava, 39, of Houston at the IKEA on Katy Freeway, who authorities said in a press release was "holding a loaded AR-15 style weapon in one hand as he leaned against a brown cardboard box which housed the drugs."
Law enforcement officials quickly moved in to rest both men, but Casco, still in his car, sped and rammed into one of the undercover officer's vehicles. No one was injured, we're told.
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Casco was arrested and was found to have a loaded gun in his waistband and another with a fully loaded magazine on the front passenger seat. In total, officials said they found three guns on him.
Both he and Nava pleaded guilty to their charges, and the latter was previously sentenced.
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Casco, meanwhile, was given a total of 360 months in federal prison (30 years) followed by five years of supervised release.
"This drug dealer showed no regard for human life when he brought 15 kilos of meth and three loaded guns to a local IKEA parking lot while local residents shopped," U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said in a press statement. "He and his AR-15-holding partner in crime exposed our community to an extremely potent drug and could have caused more harm in a flagrant attempt to flee."
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"Thanks to the quick and brave action of law enforcement and the subsequent prosecution, two dangerous criminals, along with their guns and meth, are off the streets," he concluded.