Santa Rosa Lima Cartel head sentenced for drug crimes in Dallas
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Officials announced Thursday that a man in Dallas, working with the Santa Rosa Lima Drug Cartel and other Mexico-based drug trafficking organizations, has been sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison.
Carlos Espinoza Juarez, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty in 2020 to money laundering and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin.
According to plea papers, Juarez admitted he conspired to traffic drugs.
In 2015, he admitted that he directed a co-defendant to deliver approximately one ounce of heroin to a buyer in exchange for $880; and that about a month later he directed another co-defendant to deliver approximately three ounces of heroin to a buyer in exchange for $2640. Both men did so. Juarez also admitted to sending approximately three kilograms of heroin to Massachusetts.
The 33-year-old further admitted to orchestrating a series of other drug deliveries, spanning from Texas to South Carolina, over the course of at least four years.
Juarez said he used fake names to wire money to recipients in Guanajuato, Mexico, in an effort to launder the proceeds of his illegal drug dealing.
As part of his plea deal, Juarez agreed to forfeit more than $35,000, six firearms, and two vehicles, including a Chevy Tahoe and a GMC Sierra. He will face deportation proceedings after serving his sentence.
The Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas Field Division and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation with the assistance of more than a dozen agencies, including the Grand Prairie Police Department, Grapevine Police Department, Lancaster Police Department, Dallas Police Department and Haltom City Police Department.
The case stemmed from an Organized Crime Drug Task Force (OCDETF) investigation led by the North Texas OCEDTF Strike Force.
