ABINGDON, Va. (WRIC) – A Texas man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for his role in trafficking over $1 million worth of methamphetamine and cocaine into southwest Virginia.
A jury previously convicted Alonso Cantu-Cantu in April for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that spread over 33 kilograms of crystal meth and 6 kilograms of cocaine into Southwest and Central Virginia.
Court evidence showed sources in Mexico would put methamphetamine in 55-gallon drums, which were then transported into the United State on water tankers. Once these drums made it to the U.S., Cantu-Cantu would recieve them for the next step in the drug trafficking process.
The drugs then went through distributors in Indiana, and then ultimately throughout Western Virginia. The Virginia operation was largely run a drug trafficker who was incarcerated in multiple Virginia prisons throughout the conspiracy.
Authorities were able to seize over 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 125.4 grams of heroin, 94 grams of cocaine, and seven firearms, but this represented just a small fraction of the operation. In all, the meth and cocaine distributed during the conspiracy was worth over $1.4 million.
Cantu-Cantu is one of 26 defendants who have now been convicted in connection to the drug conspiracy.
