INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO 30 YEAR PRISON TERM

HOUSTON, TX - Juan Jose Navarro, 30, of Laredo, Texas, was sentenced in Houston by United States District Judge David Hittner to a 360-month prison term without the possibility of parole for his role in a marijuana and cocaine conspiracy, announced United States attorney Don DeGabrielle. Following a four-day trial, Navarro was found guilty by a jury on April 7, 2006, over which Judge Hittner presided.

During the trial, the United States presented evidence that proved that on June 7, 2004, Navarro was stopped at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint hauling over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in a tanker. A co-defendant and member of the conspiracy was stopped on March 15, 2005, at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint hauling over 400 kilograms of marijuana in a compartment built into a flatbed trailer. The evidence also showed additional quantities of approximately 500 kilograms of marijuana and 19 kilograms of cocaine were seized. The conspiracy, which lasted from late 2003 into 2005, operated in Mexico and the United States.

Navarro has been in federal custody since his arrest.

The case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance by senior agents of the U.S. Border Patrol and officers from the Edinburg Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Mason and Ken Magidson.