Photo credit: RICHARD BOUHET/AFP via Getty Images
DEL RIO, Texas - A Mexican national was sentenced to over 27 years in prison in a federal court in Del Rio on Wednesday, April 15.
Highway traffic stop and narcotics seizure
What we know:
According to federal court documents, 30-year-old Jose Antonio Gabaldon-Salas of Nuevo León, was pulled over by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper on July 16, 2023, while driving south on Interstate Highway 35 near Abbott.
A K-9 sniffed Gabaldon-Salas’ vehicle before alerting officers to the odor of narcotics located near the seam of the rear door on the driver’s side. The trooper removed the door panel to discover three colored plastic bags containing eight bundles of rubber-banded U.S. currency, along with a half brick of a white powdery substance.
Further investigation revealed two more bundles of rubber-banded U.S. currency inside a black backpack on the passenger seat. Law enforcement later determined that the substance found in Gabaldon-Salas’s vehicle was 520.24 grams of cocaine and the bundled cash totaled $38,685.
Confession reveals drug trafficking organization
What they're saying:
Gabaldon-Salas stated that he worked for a drug trafficking organization (DTO) since October 2022, operating as a money counter before being promoted to driver.
As a driver, he trafficked cocaine to Dallas and returned bulk cash to the border area to be smuggled into Mexico. Gabaldon-Salas admitted to transporting between six and 12 kilograms of cocaine per month from December 2022 up until his July 2023 arrest.
He also stated that he worked for the DTO both for money and out of fear, saying that he had been threatened on numerous occasions and that he witnessed another member of the organization hire a hitman to shoot a cocaine dealer/business partner in Mexico.
Evidence found in Austin apartment
Dig deeper:
Gabaldon-Salas revealed that he resided at an Austin apartment with a co-conspirator and the co-conspirator’s girlfriend. A search of the apartment resulted in the discovery of $58,695, believed to be proceeds from narcotics trafficking.
What's next:
Gabaldon-Salas was arrested on July 16, 2023, and indicted on Oct. 18, 2023. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine on April 29, 2024.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.
A medallion of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security logo. (FOX 5 NY Illustration)
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Texas.