Mexican associate of the Sinaloa Cartel sentenced to 27 years in prison in Arizona

TUCSON, ARIZONA (BNO NEWS) – A Mexican drug lord on Friday was sentenced to 27 years in prison in Arizona for heading a drug trafficking organization with links to the Sinaloa Cartel, prosecutors said.

Carlos Molinares-Nuñez, 37, aka “Caliche,” was charged and convicted on continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana. He had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.

Molinares organized and directed the activities of a large and sophisticated drug-smuggling organization from his residence and headquarters in Naco, Sonora, a state in northern Mexico. The criminal operation was run by the defendant from September 2001 until December 2006.

Eventually, Molinares ended up controlling the entire drug smuggling corridor in the area. Molinares’ organization has been linked to violent acts in Mexico and the defendant had even fled to the U.S. to avoid assassination.

The drug trafficking organization used sophisticated radio communications and observation equipment to keep their load drivers informed about the presence of law enforcement vehicles, in order that the narcotics cargo could cross into the United States without fear of interception.

The vehicles were bought under straw buyers’ names to transport the marijuana into and through the United States and several of these vehicles, carrying 1,000 pounds each of marijuana, would be directed into the U.S. each week.

During the conspiracy, over 30,000 kilograms of marijuana were successfully crossed into American soil, generating millions of dollars in profit.

“Caliche’ was a key figure in the violent drug trade of the Sinaloa Cartel. With this sentencing his individual organization has been dismantled and destroyed,” said U.S. District Attorney Dennis Burke.

Molinares’ co-defendants, Luis Alfonso Carillo Landavazo, Luis Carlos Quijada Soto, Ramona Contreras, Monica Beltran Guillan and Benjamin Ulloa, Jr., were indicted in a separate case and were sentenced in the same court.

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